


The Making of a Country Boy

by White_Noise



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: AOU alternate ending, Baby Nate turns up!, X-Men References, fixed the ending, so i did, someone asked me to alter the tags
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-05-07
Updated: 2015-08-03
Packaged: 2018-03-29 10:59:24
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 14
Words: 27,598
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3893875
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/White_Noise/pseuds/White_Noise
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A few snippets about the life of Pietro Maximoff as he learns how to live after Ultron and is adopted into the Barton clan with the help of a certain Archer.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The First Day

Sometimes, Pietro wondering if his life was some sort of joke. Tony Stark tries to blow him up, only to save the world with him a few years later. Von Strucker and Ultron both give him and his sister hope only to use them as weapons. He takes 11 bullets in the chest only to wake up 3 days later with a headache and a hysterical little sister. The very man he risked his life for now bullying him into coming and living with his family. 

Hefting his surprisingly full bag over his healing shoulder as he stepped off the ramp of the Quinjet, Pietro fought back the wince of pain as the movement jolted his stitches. In the distance in front of him was the wooden house, referred to as ‘Casa Barton’ by Stark. 

The house was situated in a large paddock, with rolling green hills on both sides and a huge forest surrounding the property. Pietro, who had spent all his life until now either in the city, locked up in Von Struckers castle or in the hospital wing of the new Avengers Headquarters, had never seen a place with such opportunities to move around. He felt twitchy, longing to just drop his bag and run, run as fast as he could, just for the sheer joy of moving. A warning twinge in his side reminded him of how bad an idea that would be with the amount of stitches still holding him together. Doctor Cho's work with regenerating flesh was extraordinary but thanks to Piedro's body working 100 times faster than average, it was decided that he would probably benefit more from the old fashioned way. Pietro personally thought it was everyone's subtle attempts to slow him down for once.

A gentle presence nudged the back of his mind just seconds before he felt his sister take his hand. Pressing herself against her brother’s back, Wanda rested her chin on Pietro’s shoulder. 

“Do you like it?” She asked, following his gaze to the house.

Pietro shrugged. It was not like he had a choice in the matter. Doctor Cho had pretty much decided for him that the speedster couldn't stay at Avengers HQ while he recovered. Apparently nearly dying meant at least a month of ‘No saving the world’ and hanging around with the team was going to be too much of a temptation. It was only through sheer luck that Barton volunteered to let Pietro stay at his house or else Pietro was looking at staying in Captain Rodgers apartment or worse still, Stark’s mansion in Malibu. 

Besides, it didn't matter if Wanda liked it. She didn't have to stay here. The Captain was determined to get her training with the team as soon as possible and wanted her back at HQ as soon as Pietro was settled. 

Pietro suddenly felt the wave of sickness in his stomach at the thought of him and Wanda being separated. As long as they had lived, they had never been away from each other for more the half a day. Never been unable to physically hold each other when they wanted with the exception of those awful few weeks locked up for Von Struckers experiments. Pietro didn't know how he would cope without knowing exactly where Wanda was at all times. 

“Hush brother.” Wanda whispered, catching the tail end of the speedsters thoughts. “We have our phones. I will always be there when you call me.” 

Pietro opened his mouth, about to point out that having a phone was of little comfort when they were separated and in a foreign country when footsteps were heard.

“Ok you two, move it or lose it.”

The twins turned to look at the red haired woman known as Black Widow stepped off the ramp. The Russian assassin turned to Pietro. 

“Now I don’t think I need to give you the shovel talk here. You already know what Clint is like but his family are dear too me. Step out of line with them and I have no problem coming back to deal with you myself.” She said, eyeing Pietro. 

Pietro swallowed down his nerves as he looked the woman up and down. He knew Black Widow was a formidable fighter and he didn't want to be on her bad side. At least, not too often. 

“Yes Ma’am.” The speedster replied, remembering the term from watching the Captain address Miss Hill. 

Black Widow eyed him briefly before nodding. 

“Clint should be here any minute with the car.” She said, turning to look at the property before them. As if by magic, the three heard the roar of an engine. 

“Right on time.” The Widow muttered to herself. 

A truck rounded the bend in the trees, rolling up to the ramp of the jet. Pietro eyed the driver as Clint Barton climbed out of the vehicle, dressed in a plain flannel shirt and jeans. 

“Hey Nat. Sorry for the delay. Laura just got back from her appointment and Cooper wouldn't let me leave unless I told him exactly where I was going. I kept telling him I would only be gone a few minutes.” The man said. 

Black Widow smiled. 

“Everything good at the appointment?” She asked. 

Hawkeye returned the smile. 

“Not long now. Laura is looking forward to finally getting the little monster out of her.”

Black Widow chuckled. 

“Well, until then you are stuck with your two and Pietro here.” She replied. 

Clint turned to look at the twins. Or more specifically, Pietro. 

“Good to see you up and about Road Runner.” The archer said. 

Pietro managed a small smile. Barton had visited him many times while in hospital, at first just to yell at him for almost getting himself killed but later, just to talk and play cards and video games. Pietro had never had access to video games before and Clint had delighted in teaching him how to play the games. Pietro had in return, taught Clint some of the card games he and Wanda would play when they had been younger. They had developed something like a friendship. Pietro had never really had friends before. Even before their parents had been killed, the twins had always been seen as ‘weird’. Other children had tended to avoid them so Clint’s attention had been nice.

“I am looking forward to meeting your family.” The speedster replied. 

“Well, not much longer now. I know the kids are looking forward to meeting you.” The archer turned back to Black Widow. “Are you coming down for dinner Nat?” He asked.

“No. Stark may have gotten a lead on where Bruce went and I need to get back.”

Clint nodded and stepped forward, taking the bag from Pietro. The speedster took a moment to rub at his sore shoulder. 

“Ok. I better go and tell a disappointed little girl her Aunt Natasha won’t be coming tonight. Will be seeing both you ladies next time I am at HQ. Speedy, get in the car.” He said, turning back to the vehicle and throwing the bag into the back of the truck.

Pietro turned to his sister, suddenly feeling very uncertain about everything. Wanda gave him a reassuring smile. 

“Be calm.” She said, embracing her brother before turning around and stepping onto the ramp of the jet. The Black Widow had already disappeared into the depths of the jet to prepare for departure. 

Turning back at the top of the ramp, Wanda gave her brother a quick wave before disappearing. 

The jet engines roared to life. Pietro watched as the giant machine slowly rose into the air, turning slowly. In a few moments, the jet was gone, speeding back towards the Avengers HQ, leaving Pietro alone.

A horn sounded behind him, causing the speedster to jump.

“Hop in before I make you walk to the house.” Clint called from the driver’s seat. 

Pietro turned, following the archers instruction to climb into the cabin. Clint threw the vehicle into reverse, looking over his shoulder as he steered the vehicle backwards until he had enough room to turn around.

“Ok kid. Before we get there, I have to give you the ground rules of living with my family.” He said, not looking at the younger man.

Pietro widened his eyes in disbelief and confusion. He had already been threatened by Black Widow. What more needed to be said?

The archer suddenly turned in his seat and grinned at the speedster as if he could guess the younger man's thoughts. 

“Bet you didn't see that coming.”


	2. The First Night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pietro meets the Barton Clan

“So the rules are simple. Rule One. Don’t use your speed in the house. Rule two. No swearing in the house. There are kids living there and believe me, thanks to Nat they already know enough swear words to last a life time. In many different languages. Rule three. I know Doctor Cho gave you medicine and a schedule to go with it. You will take the damn medicine. I will not have her hunt me down because you can’t be bothered following her instructions. Rule four…”

Clint eyed the quiet speedster sitting in the passenger seat of the car. Pietro was looking out the window, no doubt ignoring everything the archer said as he eyed the new environment. Clint sighted. Well, there was one way to get the boys attention.

Slamming on the breaks, Clint tried not to grin as the speedster lurched forward, catching himself before he hit the dash. The speedster glared, blue eyes flashing.

“Ouch.” The boy said pointedly. 

“Well, pay attention next time. That’s rule four anyway. Do I need to go over the rest or do you wanna do this on a trial and error bases, the error being known when I kick your ass for it.”

Pietro looked up at Clint.

“I was paying attention Old Man.” He snapped, clearly not amused with Clint’s prank. 

“Sure you were kid.” Clint grinned, taking his foot off the break. They were almost to the house now and Clint could already see Cooper in the distance, his face pressed to the glass of the window, looking for his dad.

As Clint watching, the little boys face lit up before disappearing from the window, no doubt already racing to the door with a cry of “Dad’s home!”

The door to the house opened and Laura stepped out onto the porch and leaning on the rail, one hand resting in the small of her back to ease the weight of her belly, the rugrats tumbling out behind her. Lila was waving frantically at the truck and Cooper was climbing over the rails, no doubt planning to run to the car.

Clint turned to see Pietro’s stunned face as he saw the kids. No doubt the younger man had never expected such a welcome party.

“Watch out. You are going to get mobbed.” Clint warned as the truck rolled the last few meters and halted at the foot of the stairs. 

Before Clint was even able to get his seatbelt off, Cooper had the door open and was talking at a million miles an hour. Clint grinned and climbed out of the vehicle, Cooper now attempting to climb on him like a monkey as Lila shouted from the porch. Laura stood on the top step, smiling at her family’s antics. 

Clint turned, mouth open and ready to introduce their visitor but he paused. Pietro was still seated in the car, almost petrified. Dropping Cooper, Clint instructed the boy to wait on the porch as he walked around the truck to the passenger door. Pietro jumped as Clint opened the door.

“Seatbelt stuck?” He teased as the boy looked at him. Slowly, Pietro reached down to undo the seatbelt as Clint turned his attention to the speedsters bag. It was a lot more then Clint remembered the kid having, no doubt all thanks to Tony and his inability to be sensible with money when a chance to be generous showed up. Hefting the bag over one shoulder, Clint turned back to Pietro who was slowly sliding out of the vehicle. It was obvious to see the kid was way out of his comfort zone. In a new environment and without his sister there to support him.

“Believe me, they don’t bite. It's ok, they are going to love you.” Clint said, feeling some genuine sympathy for the kid. The speedster had been through hell in the last few years and had obviously learnt to survive on his own. It would be difficult to get him to drop his guard but Clint was sure he could manage it. 

After a moment’s contemplation, Pietro rose to the challenge, eyes flashing.

“They will love me more then they love you, old man.” The kid said, smile covering his nerves.

Clint snorted.

“Respect your elders and betters kid.” He shot back. 

“Dad?” Both men turned to the voice. Lila had somehow dodged Laura and had made her way over to the truck to see what was keeping her father. 

“Hey little monkey. Come here and meet my friend Pietro. Remember, I told you about him? He’s going to be staying with us for a while.” 

Lila took a step forward, her eyes falling on the white haired man.

“Hello Pietro.” She muttered, taking extra care to pronounce the speedsters name correctly. 

Pietro lowered himself to his knees, giving the girl a smile. 

“Hello Lila. It is nice to meet you.” He said, taking her hand and giving it a little shake.

Lila ducked her head, embarrassed but both men could see her smile. 

“DAD!” 

Cooper shot around the truck. He paused, eyeing Pietro carefully. 

“You’re dad’s friend. The one from Sokovia, right?”

Pietro nodded, climbing back to his feet as Lila walked around him to Clint, who picked her up. 

Cooper grinned.

“Cool! Dad says you are really fast and you saved his life.”

Pietro nodded, starting to relax. If this was what it was going to be like, maybe staying with Hawkeye would not be so bad.

“I did, yes.” The speedster replied.

The young boy was bouncing on the balls of his feet now.

“Can I see you run fast? Please?” 

Clint cleared his throat. 

“Many after he is better.” The archer said, shifting his daughter’s weight in his arms. “He’s here to rest after being injured, remember.”

Cooper grinned before turning and running back to the porch.

“Mum! Pietro is gonna show me how to run fast!” He called. On the porch, Laura laughed. 

“Is he?” She asked, eyeing her husband as Clint walked out from behind the truck, Lila in one arm and Pietro’s bag in the other.

“Laura, this is Pietro.” The archer introduced, indicating to the speedster who had followed him from the truck. “Pietro, my wife Laura.” He continued, turning to face the younger man. 

Pietro smiled at Laura.

“Nice to meet you ma’am.” The white haired man replied.

“You too Pietro. Please come inside for dinner and Clint can show you your room. I was looking for recipes from Sokovia for dinner tonight but I am afraid I couldn’t find any that I could prepare in time so I made chicken pie for dinner. I hope that is ok.”

Pietro thought back on most of the meals he could remember. He hadn’t had any form of home cooked meal in years, since his parents died. While on the street, meals had been anything he and Wanda could find, mostly canned food and the occasional scrap. While in the castle, it had been the same military rations that the men had eaten and while in hospital, it had been a mixture of processed vegetables Doctor Cho recommended and the junk food Stark kept sneaking in.

“It sounds wonderful.” Pietro replied in earnest as Laura smiled and turned to step into the house, the kids moving to follow her.

A hand came down on his shoulder, Clint moving to Pietro’s side. 

“See. I told you it would be ok.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So these first two were sort on one story to introduce everything. The rest are all going to be one shots but I wanted to build the scene first.
> 
> And I know Pietro being nervous is kinda weird but look at it this way. He is in a very foreign country where his native language is not spoken, has only just gotten out of hospital after almost dying and his sister had been separated from him for the first time ever. He has never had anyone to look after him since his parents died and no doubt has very little interaction with anyone other then his sister. No matter how friendly people are, you would think there would be some nerves in this case.


	3. Nightmare Part 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pietro has a bad night.

The fact of the matter is, Pietro Maximoff has nightmares. Horrifying visions of what could have been, memories of a dreadful past and guesses of an uncertain future. 

The first night at the Barton farm had been a good night. Pietro had eaten with the family and enjoyed getting to know the people he would be spending the month at least with. By the time he had taken the medication, with Clint basically standing over him and threatening him if he tried to get out of it (what? He didn't like pills, ok. And he was pretty sure the pain pills Doctor Cho had prescribed to him were meant for the Captain. How else could they survive the speedsters quick metabolism?) Pietro was exhausted. 

Going up to the guest room which was now his, Pietro had eyed the surroundings, noting the laptop and phone sitting on the small desk that Barton had obviously dug out of Pietros bag (another guilt present from Stark)

Too exhausted from the stress of the day and the slight throb of pain from his body, Pietro had simply transferred the phone to the second pillow on the bed, made sure it was fully charged in case Wanda tried to call him, climbed into the soft bed and drifted off to sleep.

The next night had not been so good a night. 

Pietros second day on the Barton farm had been full of exploring. Cooper had dragged Pietro out for a look around the farm, including the three horses his mum owned, the chicken coop he and his sister were paid by their parents to look after, the small veggie patch the Barton's used to grow some of their food and the endless fields on the property. 

The grass was green, the fields huge. A perfect place to run. 

And there was nothing he could do about it. The stitches were still in place and despite his normal lack of care for authority, Pietro did not want to risk pulling them out, an outcome which would almost be certain even at the slowest run. 

Energy buzzed under his skin, unable to be get out. He vibrated slightly, a nervous habit he had developed long ago in an attempt to use some of that energy. 

After returning to the farm, he had been challenged by Cooper to play a video game. Lila was with Laura, out in the garden and Clint was in the dining room with a measuring tape and a pencil, measuring things before writing them down. 

There was nothing to do, nowhere to go and all Pietro could think about was what had led him to this place.

That night, in bed with the medication making his body feel heavy and his mind racing, Pietro slipped into one of his nightmares.

It was the old one, of the bombing. He and Wanda were trapped, the unexplored bomb just inches from their heads, their parents somewhere at the bottom of the building, already dead. In the distance, they could hear voices of rescue crews, trying to get to them. Pietro could see the word 'Stark' as clear as day on the missile as he waited for it to take his life, Wanda shivering in his arms. It was freezing. There was no food or water. No hope. 

Suddenly the bomb gave a shudder. Metal screamed as it slowly started moving backwards, away from the trapped twins. Pietro looked up as the bomb moved through the hole in the wall and fell away. There were screams now as Pietro looked up at their saviour. A man, no machine? Red and gold armour, hovering in the air before them, a bright circle of light at the chest. Slowly, Pietro sat up, staring at the man. 

"Iron Man." he whispered in shock.

Suddenly Iron Man seemed to focus on him. The metal man raise a hand, pointing it towards the twins. Pietro saw the orb in the palm start to glow and knew instinctively that he and his sister were going to die. Fear washed through him as the hero fired.

Pietro jerked awake, sweat dripping down for his brow, mixing with hopeless tears as he gasped for breath. The bandages on his chest and arms were damp. Pietro would need a shower and to change them soon. But first, he had something else to do. Reaching to the pillow beside him, Pietro grabbed the mobile phone and turned it on, wincing at the bright light. Searching through the contacts, he found his sisters name and pressed it, holding the phone to his ear. 

It rang for a few agonizing moments before Wanda picked up.

"Pietro?" she asked over the line. The speedster remainder silent, just thankful to hear her voice.

On the other end, Wanda sighed.

"Bad dream?" she asked, slipping into Serbian for her brother’s sake.

"Yes" Pietro replied, chocking slightly as he struggled to maintain his breathing.

Wanda sighed again before slowly, she began to talk, telling her brother about her day and the training and anything that came to her mind, knowing that her brother didn’t need the information, just needed to hear her voice.

Outside of the bedroom, Clint Barton stood, his hand on the door handle. 

He had heard the whimpering and crying from his and Laura's room and worried for their guest, had decided to wake Pietro up. But it looked like the boy had already managed it by himself. Clint was no stranger to nightmares. Hell, after the shit show in Budapest, Clint thought he would never have another good night. And the incident with Loki happened. 

Clint shuddered at the memory of if, of all those people dying because of him. Of Phil dying, his handler and close friend gone, all because he let Loki control him. 

Turning from the door, Clint made his way downstairs and towards the living room, turning the tv on as he sat on the couch. Muting the tv so as not to disturb anyone else in the house, Clint found himself starting at the silent infomercials as he relaxed back in his seat. He knew he wouldn't be able to sleep again tonight. 

After maybe 20 minutes, Clint felt the strange sensation of being watched. Slowly he turned. Pietro was standing at the doorway, the light of the tv giving him a washed out appearance which hid his fatigue.

"Hey kid." Clint greeted. "Trouble sleeping?" 

Pietro seemed to study the archer, no doubt trying to figure out how much Clint already knew. Clint tried to give his friendly grin.

"Yeah, me too. Grab a seat." the archer said, indicating towards the other side of the couch. Slowly, the white haired boy followed the instructions, sitting down in the offered space.

"Now, we can talk about it or we can watch tv. It's your call." Clint said, once again gazing at the tv. "But I want you to know that you can come to me with anything you need to talk about. I am not going to turn you away." 

Clint didn't have to look to feel Pietro nod beside him, the younger man clearly still too shaken for a witty reply. The two men falling into a comfortable silence as they proceeded to watch tv together for the rest of the night.


	4. Bedtime Story

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pietro faces one of his biggest fears.

Life threw curve balls. It just so happened that Pietro Maximoff, the fastest person alive, couldn’t dodge this one, when one afternoon, while he was helping Laura wash the dishes after dinner. 

Dinner had been a simple affair, a lasagne and salad. Laura had finally dropped the pretence that since Pietro was a guest, he shouldn’t have to work and let him help in the kitchen. It probably helped that after that first day of exploring and winding himself up, Pietro had become so jittery that Clint had shoved a hammer in his hand and told him to do something useful.

Pietro had never done any home repairs and found a quiet joy in the small jobs Clint had him do around the house. It made him feel useful.

Pietro had been putting the last of the dishes away and smiling as Laura regaled to him a tale of Hawkeye as a young man when he had felt something tug at his shirt. He looked down at Lila who was gazing up at him with big eyes.

“Will you read to me?” The girl asked. 

Pietro blinked in surprise at the request.

“What?” He asked.

“Read to me.” Lila said again.

Pietro looked up at Laura for guidance, unsure how to go about this, how to tell the little girl that no, he would not read to her. The woman was smirking at him, seemingly not realising how uncomfortable the younger man was.

“The books on the table by her bed. Two chapters before she goes to sleep every night. Don’t let her fool you into reading more.” The woman said, taking the last dish from the speedsters hand and putting it away. She turned back to the two and raised an eyebrow at Pietro.

“Well go on.” 

Realising he was stuck, Pietro fought to keep the emotions off his face, took Lila’s hand and led her to the stairs, ignoring her instruction to be picked up and carried to bed. There was still a real risk he would pull his stitches out if he did.

Lila’s bedroom was the sort of room Pietro had only before seen in a tv show. Pink wallpaper and toys scattered around, although Pietro couldn’t help but notice the lego pieces and army men in with the dolls. It was the sort of room Pietro wished Wanda could have had. 

Lila let go of Pietro’s hand, jumping onto the bed and sending several stuffed toys flying. The girl wiggled around for a moment before becoming settled. The she looked expectantly at Pietro. 

Feeling a small sliver of dread, Pietro sat down on the edge of the bed. The book was produced for him. Quickly, he squinted at the title. 

“Harry Potter.” He read aloud. He left a little anxious as he flipped open the book and began to read, Lila watching him with wide eyes.

\-----

At the door, Clint stood, listening to the story. He hadn’t meant to eavesdrop. He had been on the way to his and Laura’s bedroom to change out of his work clothes before joining the rest of the family in the living room, relieved for once, from reading duties, when he had overheard Pietro. 

The archer’s brow scrunched in confusion as he listened to the story. That didn’t sound right….

Opening the room, Clint peeked into the room. Lila was sitting on her bed, watching Pietro carefully as the young man read. After a few seconds, Pietro looked up from the book, catching Clint’s eye. The speedster paused mid-sentence.

“Got a moment?” Clint asked, giving the younger man a reassuring smile. Pietro nodded and put the book down on Lila’s bed. Quickly, he rose to his feet and followed Clint out of the bedroom, the archer shutting the door behind them.

Out in the hallway, Clint turned to face the white haired man.

“I have never heard Harry Potter read like that.” He commented softly so Lila couldn’t hear.

Pietro shrugged.

“I was just reading what it said.” He said, slightly defensively. 

Clint raised an eyebrow at him.

“Pretty sure Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone doesn’t have a scene where Harry fights a huge dragon on the steps of the castle. In fact, I am positive that isn’t for another three books.” 

Pietro ducked his head, his face turning read with embarrassment at being caught out.

“Pete, I know you can speak it very well but can you read English?” Clint asked.

Pietro raised his head, his eyes flashing with anger.

“Of course!” 

Clint held up his hands in mock surrender. He didn’t really want to pick a fight with the younger man, he just wanted to know what was going on. Pietro seemed to shrink in on himself, seeing the look Clint was giving him.

“It’s just hard sometimes. I learnt to speak the language but there were not so many English books when growing up. I can read fast but then I cannot understand. If I want to understand, I am too slow at reading. So I do not read. But Lila, she wanted me to read to her.” 

"You didn't want to appear to be slow so you made up the story?" Clint guessed.

Pietro seemed even more ashamed of his actions. Clint shrugged and crossed his arms, leaning his weight to rest on the wall. 

“I get what's going on. Nat is the same. She tells me that everything she reads has to be translated into Russian in her mind before she can make sense of it.”

Pietro seemed to start. No doubt he had never thought of it that way. Clint couldn’t help but smile at him.

“Tell you what. Lila wants you to read to her and it will be good practice if you do. But obviously you need someone to keep you on track and not making up imaginary dragons. I have read all the Harry Potter books before but I don’t mind helping you read them to my daughter.”

Pietro seemed to sag with relief. Whether it was relief that he wasn’t getting told off for making up the story or if it was because of Clint’s offer to help, the archer wasn’t sure. But as long as the younger man was a little more comfortable, Clint was not going to complain. 

Turning, the archer opened the door to his daughter’s room. Lila was sitting on her bed, watching the two men. 

“Hey sweetie. I am going to help Pietro read to you tonight. Is that ok?” Clint asked his daughter.

The little girl nodded, making her father smile as Clint sat down where Pietro had just been seated. After a few moments, he felt the bed shift beside him as Pietro sat down. Reaching for the book, Clint opened it at the first page.

“We are starting from the beginning.” He said to the room in general. 

“Chapter One. The Boy Who Lived. Mr and Mrs Dursley, of number four, Privet Drive, were proud to say they were perfectly normal…”

It was three chapters later that Clint put the book down. He and Pietro had shared reading duties, Clint reading a page before getting Pietro to read the next one. Pietro had struggled for the first few pages, trying to both read fast and understand the story but Clint have been sure to slow him down whenever the boy started skipping words or got confused by the plot. Slowly, Pietro had relaxed, realising that he didn’t need to race, that the story was as much for him as it was for Lila.

Lila had drifted off to sleep somewhere towards the end of the second chapter. She had already read the first few chapters with Laura anyway and didn’t need the repeat. Pietro on the other hand, had closed his eyes whenever it was Clint’s turn to read, clearly engaged with the story. Slowly, the injured speedster started to lean against the archer, resting his head on Clint’s shoulder.

Finishing the page he was on, Clint closed the book and put it down next to his sleeping daughter.

The movement caused Pietro to shift slightly, only semi-awake. 

“So what did you think, Kid?” Clint asked softly so as not to wake up his daughter.

Pietro opened his blue eyes slowly, staring unfocused at the bedroom wall. 

“Harry is so lonely.” The younger man muttered, his accent thick. “He is special but people only using him.” Pietro sounded sad as he said this. 

Clint felt his heart stop. He hadn’t realised how the start of this story would affect the young speedster who spent a lot of time being used as a weapon by people who didn’t care for his wellbeing. Adding to that, being separated from his sister who had been his only companion for so long and leaving him with an unfamiliar family in a country where the language was not his best. No doubt the story with its alienation and loneliness had hit a little too close to home.

Slowly, Clint rested his cheek on the top of Pietro’s head and wrapped his arm around the younger man’s shoulder.

“Don’t worry. Harry will have some very good friends soon.” The archer promised. “And you. You have friends that care about you. You have your sister and the Avengers. And you have me and Laura and the kids. We are not going to use you Pietro and we are not going to leave. I promise.”

Clint was not sure what made him do it as he slowly shifted and pressed his lips against the speedster’s forehead but he couldn’t find it in himself to regret it. The younger man was adorable and Clint couldn't help but feel protective of him.

In Clint's arms, Pietro shifted slightly and closed his eyes again, letting the warmth of Clint’s body lull him to sleep, feeling safe

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel a bit of a bastard using the comparison between the early chapters of Harry Potter and Quicksilvers life. Still, it happened. Also Pietro's struggles with reading in English are based on the fact reading in a language you weren't brought up on is really hard and in my head, I believe Pietro learnt English on the streets and when watching movies and didn't have access to English books for a long time so although his speech is good, his reading not so much.
> 
> Also, it got a little shippy there. Oh well. Guess I can take the question mark out of that tag now.


	5. Stitches

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Doctor Cho visits with some good (and bad) news. Also, Pietro breaks some house rules.

“I don’t often make house calls.” Doctor Helen Cho commented, placing her equipment on the Barton’s dining table as Pietro pulled his t-shirt off and threw it across the room.

“Yeah, I don’t often have a half naked Sokovian in my dining room.” Clint replied from his place leaning against the door frame. “I’m just thankful my wife and kids aren’t here to see this.”

“Why?” Pietro asked, pulling a chair towards the Doctor and seating himself. “Are you afraid your wife is going to fall for the more attractive man and run away with me?” 

Clint snorted as the white haired speedster grinned.

“Good luck with that one kid. It took me long enough to win her over. You don’t stand a chance.”

Pietro looked at him, trying to hide the smile. 

“I have faced harder challenges before.” He replied.

Clint raised an eyebrow in mock question.

At that moment, Doctor Cho chose to smack the younger man across the head. 

“Don’t be rude to your host.” She said, picking up a pair of surgical scissors. Carefully, she slid the bottom blade under the bandage fixed tightly across Pietro’s chest and cut through the material. 

“But I am only point out the truth. I am a very attractive man. Isn’t that right, Doctor?” 

In retaliation, Doctor Cho pressed just a little too hard against the still healing skin. Pietro winced and groaned. Clint snickered. 

“There is a lesson for you Kid Flash. Never piss of a Doctor while you are their patient. They can make your life miserable in ways we meer mortals can only dream of.”

Pietro sighted and dramatically threw his hands in the air, causing Doctor Cho to huff in annoyance. 

“Everyone is ganging up on me.” He said dramatically. 

Clint laughed.

“Please. If we were out to get you, you would know it.” The archer shot back with a wink. 

Pietro rolled his eyes at the wink. For the last few nights, after learning of the speedster’s insecurity, Clint had seemingly become more welcoming. Pietro had been a little unsure of the archer’s behaviour before arriving at the farm, remembering the barely concealed hostility and rivalry. It was nice that the archer now seemed to be extending his hand in friendship, despite their initial first meeting. Pietro’s later attempt to overcome his fear seemed to have won the archer completely and now their relationship was closer to brothers then the semi-friendship, semi-hatred that had started it all.

With a final snip, the bandages fell away, showing off Pietro’s impressive collection of stitches. With gloved hands, Doctor Cho carefully examined the injuries. Picking up a medical wipe, she started to carefully wipe down the narrow lines of thread.

“Well, the good news is these have healed enough to come out.”

Pietro narrowed his eyes.

“And what is the bad news?” He asked.

Doctor Cho smiled at him. “I’m not letting you stop your medication just yet.”

Pietro swore. With impressive speed for someone without enhanced abilities, Clint stepped forward, cuffing the white haired man over the head. 

“Language.” He warned as Pietro grumbled and rubbed his head for the second time. 

“The children aren’t here.” The speedster pointed out in his own defence. 

“That’s why I only smacked you. Had Cooper picked up any of that, you would be dodging arrows right now kid.” 

Behind Pietro, Doctor Cho had picked up her scissors. With gentle hands, she began cutting the stitches loose, pulling the threads out of the speedster’s skin. 

“I am not going to clear you of medical leave just yet.” Doctor Cho muttered as she tugged gently at the threads, disposing them into a small container as each one came free of Pietro’s skin. Nor would I advise you of returning to the base right now.” Pulling the last thread from his back, the Doctor turned her attention to his arm. “I will clear you to do some gentle running. I would hope you would be sensible about it and not push yourself too hard but somehow that feels like a losing battle.”

“But I can run again?” Pietro asked, just to confirm.

“Not until I remove the last stitches, you can’t.” The Doctor snapped back.

Pietro huffed, tapping his foot irately on the floor as the Doctor pulled stitches out of both his arms, his chest and his right leg. Finally, the woman stepped away, turning to clear away her equipment.

“It is finished.” She said. Behind her there was a loud scrape of wood and a strange noise, like a fast drum beat. Doctor Cho turned back to find the chair empty, Pietro no longer in the room. From his corner of the room, Clint sighed.

“And that’s another rule he has broken.” He said as the noise sounded up stairs. In a moment, a white blur passed the two. The door to the house, which had been closed, was suddenly open, banging against the wall.

With a sigh, Clint turned to the door and examined the dint where the handle had hit the wall. He looked over at Doctor Cho as the woman began to pack her equipment away in her medical bag.

“Don’t blame him. He has a lot of energy he needs to run off.” The woman said, picking up the container holding the used stitches and heading towards the kitchen. 

“I don’t.” Clint replied. “But I am still going to make him fix the damn wall.”

\------

Out in the field, Pietro skidded to a halt, the dirt shifting under his trainers. For the first time in a week, he felt like he could move. Sure it was a blow that he couldn’t go back to his sister just yet and the medication schedule Doctor Cho had put him on was horrible. But he could run again. Finally, he could explore the fields at his own pace. He could carry Cooper and Lila around as they played. He could help Laura with any heavy lifting without being in fear of setting his recovery back. He could do the jobs he was given a lot faster. He could train and finally be ready to return to his sister. Finally, he could be himself again.

And by being himself, he intended to prank Clint as much as possible. 

Pietro grinned to himself, his mind already filling with harmless pranks he could pull on the archer. 

But first, he planned to explore that forest he had seen the first day he had arrived here. And maybe run to the nearest town for a look around. And maybe find a good hill to take the kids to one day. And maybe see if he could race Laura’s horses. 

His mind racing with things he could do, Pietro turned back towards the house.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this is sort of the end of 'Phase 1' of these stories. Stay tuned for Phase 2 which starts in the next chapter. 
> 
> (Also, I am not a doctor and through sheer dumb luck, have never needed stitches before. Hence why there may be some medical errors here. Sorry)


	6. Cow Tipping

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pietro learns that Tony Stark cannot be trusted.

“So, how is it down there? Are you settled yet?” 

Sitting in front of the laptop, Pietro couldn’t help but grin. On the screen, his sister sat, this amazing program called skype allowing him to talk to her face to face between their bedrooms. His in the Barton’s house and hers at Avengers HQ. 

“It has been…interesting.” The Speedster concluded, not sure how to finish that sentence. 

It had been a week and a half since he had joined the family at their home to recover and he no longer felt like a stranger in their home. Clint had become more like an older brother or father figure then Pietro had ever expected the archer to become and Laura was so much like Wanda in many respects, always looking out for the injured man and teasing him as he helped her around the house, mindful that her pregnancy meant she found somethings difficult. In quiet times, she would even grab Pietro’s hand and place it on her stomach to feel the baby kick.

Cooper had long since declared that he liked Pietro as an older brother, as the two had started a mud fight in the back yard one afternoon after Clint had watered the garden.   
Laura had not been impressed by the two boy’s antics but it had been worth it for Coopers hug at the end of their battle. Plus, she had smiled when Pietro had dumped mud on Clint’s head when the archer had come out of the house to see what was going on.

Lila too seemed to look at Pietro like another sibling. The reading sessions had continued, although now Pietro found himself reading two or three pages to every page Clint read. The story was engrossing and it would only be a few more days before Pietro was ready to start the second book. 

On the screen, Wanda smiled at her twin.

“I told you, you would like it.”

Pietro threw up his hands. 

“Yes, yes. You are very smart.” He said in mock defeat. 

Wanda laughed.

“So how is training?” Pietro asked, knowing that it was something his sister would be excited to tell him about. Wanda seemed to have developed real enjoyment in training with the team, in particular, with the android they all now seemed to be calling Vision. Pietro was not sure how to feel about that. Certainly, he owed the android thanks for rescuing Wanda after Pietro had been shot and Wanda had become too distraught at losing her brother to save herself.

But Pietro could see that Wanda was favouring the Vision almost too much. Pietro was protective of his sister and couldn’t help but think she was going to hurt herself if she let herself fall for the machine. 

Wanda seemed to take the hint and dove into a tale of training with the team, in particular a story of how the Black Widow knocked Stark out when he tried to fight her. Black Widow had been teaching some of her moves to Wanda and the witch was looking forward to showing her brother once he returned to HQ. Pietro, smile on his face at how happy his sister was, let the words wash over him, not really paying attention to the story. After a few minutes, he was brought back to reality by his name being called.

“Are you paying attention?” Wanda asked, glaring. 

Pietro put his hand on his heart.

“Of course I am little sister.” He said.

“Not so little.” Wanda replied. 

Pietro laughed.

“12 minutes.” He reminded as Wanda gave him a look.

Wanda opened her mouth to reply when someone knocked at her door. It opened, the man they had both thought of as their enemy, sticking his head into the room.  
“Is that Footloose you are talking to?” He asked Wanda before his eyes fell on the screen. “Hey country boy. Tipped over any cows yet?”

Pietro looked at him in confusion. 

“What?” He asked.

On the screen, Wanda turned to face Stark.

“Get out.” She ordered. 

“What? I am just being friendly to your brother.” Stark replied, smiling at the female twin.

Wanda’s hand started to glow. With a startled cry, Stark was pulled out of view by invisible hands, the door glowing red as it slammed shut. Wanda turned around, trying to suppress her smile. 

After a few more minutes of talking, Pietro excused himself and wandered downstairs to help Laura make lunch. 

Lunch was a noisy affair, everyone fighting for the best seat, the best food and joking. Clint have just arrived home from his early mornings in the local town and had brought back flowers for Laura, jokingly teasing that he would have brought back some for Pietro as well if the younger man had asked. Pietro had retaliated by stealing a bread roll from the archers plate, an action with had earned him a well-aimed napkin projectile to the face.

After lunch was over, Pietro went upstairs to change. Clint was planning to paint the living room while Laura was out seeing to the horses and Pietro could already sense an opportunity to have a bit of messy fun. 

Striding into his room, Pietro stopped when he noticed the faint glow from his computer. Obviously, he had forgotten to turn it off. Grabbing an old shirt, Pietro started to strip but then stopped, looking at the computer thoughtfully. After pulling the shirt over his head, the speedster moved towards the computer and opened the internet. Quickly, he typed in the search bar and opened the first website. His eyes opened as he read the page.

‘Oh.’

\------

Clint was half way through painting the first wall and still fuming. Despite his offer to help, the houses resident speedster had instead disappeared, no doubt asleep up stairs.   
Clint was not the sort of man to fault someone grabbing a powernap whenever they could but he had hoped making a lot of noise downstairs would wake the younger man. Instead it seemed he was doomed to paint the whole room on his own. 

Dropping the paint brush into a tray, Clint stood back and eyes the task before him. It was going to be a couple of hours work with just one man. 

The archer shook his head. Screw that. The speedster was going to help even if Clint had to drag him down the stairs by his stupidly wild hair. 

Turning, Clint made his way to the foot of the stairs before he noticed the noise. Being partly deaf and having to rely on a hearing aid, Clint didn’t always hear softer noises. But he knew the noises of his home and that sound defiantly didn’t belong.

It sounded like an animal in distress. 

Curious, Clint followed the noise, pausing for a moment at the door in case he got a face full of mud. Again. Slowly, opening the door, Clint was surprised by the pair of brown eyes looking at him mournfully from the garden. 

A cow was standing in the thick grass, seemingly just as lost as Clint was, as to why it was there. 

Cautiously, in case this was another set up by a certain white haired prankster, Clint stepped out onto the porch. Suddenly a blur appeared from the front paddock, moving at speed towards the cow. Within seconds, it had collided with the animal, the blur bouncing to the ground in a pile of speedster as the cow stumbled before righting itself. Clint’s jaw dropped as the cow gave the speedster an almost reproachful look before dropping its head to the ground to forage for food. On the ground, Pietro huffed in annoyance. He turned, no doubt to pick himself up when he spotted the archer watching him.

Clint finally found his voice.

“What are you doing?” He asked. 

Pietro, glanced up, seemingly surprised by his observer. In a flash, he was on his feet and leaning against the flank on the creature he had just tried to run over. Absentmindedly, he gave the cow a pat.

“I was doing what you are supposed to do on farms.” He replied, clearly trying to brush off his embarrassment at being caught out.

“And what is that?” Clint said, eyeing the cow again. He had never owned cows. Milking them had always seemed like too much effort and with Clint’s full time job, trying to run a farm full of cows and keep up with superhumans didn’t leave him time to sleep. And he was not going to foster such a job on his wife. Laura would make him miserable if he tried. 

Giving the animal an affectionate pat, Pietro shrugged.

“I am trying to tip her over.” He said. “It’s something you do on a farm, isn’t it?”

Clint jaw dropped a second time.

“No! Where did you hear…?” He paused as a name surfaced. His eyes narrowed. “Did Tony have anything to do with this?”

Pietro looked down at his feet. 

“He may have mentioned something.”

Clint groaned.

“Alright, I see what has happened here. Pietro, listen to these words of wisdom. There are two places you never go for information. A google search engine and Tony Stark. Cow tipping is not real. It’s an urban legend.” 

Calming down slightly, Clint looked at the animal again as Pietro’s shoulders dropped.

“Where did you even get it?” He asked, not sure if he really wanted police knocking on his door over a cow theft.

“I bought her. Legally too.” Pietro said defensively. The young man reached up and patted the beasts head. 

Crap. The speedster had already bonded with the thing. 

Sighing, Clint shook his head. 

“Ok. You can keep it, I guess. Just move the tractor out of the barn and leave it there. But you are taking care of it and getting up each morning to milk it. Do not let me catch you asking Laura or the kids to do it for you. And do not let it into my range. 

Clint had constructed a small firing range in a secret corner of his barn. It was a place he went to de-stress. He was damned if he was going to have a cow in there.

Pietro nodded, relieved that Clint wasn’t angry at him. Grabbing the rope that was tied around the cow’s neck, he started a slow walk towards the barn, leading the creature there. 

“And then get your ass inside and help me with this painting!” Clint shouted after him. All he heard in reply was a laugh from the younger man. 

\-----

An hour later, Clint was still engrossed with his painting. Pietro had yet to return from the barn, no doubt still busy helping his new pet settle in. It was quiet in the house, almost peaceful.

That was why he didn’t expect Tony Stark to kick the door in and storm into the house.

“Alright Katniss, what did you do?” The angry genius questioned, storming up to the archer and pushing his finger against Clint’s chest. “F.R.I.D.A.Y. just alerted me that someone has been accessing my accounts to buy livestock!”

Clint couldn’t help but grin.

“Well, you are the one who gave him the idea and an unlimited credit card to fund it.” The archer replied.

Tony looked confused for a moment before it dawned on him.

“Where is he?” He snarled. Clint didn’t bother to even answer, simply nodded his head in the direction of the barn. Huffing, Tony turned on the balls of his feet and stormed outside. Clint caught a glimps of the Iron Man armour standing unguarded on the porch before the door shut. Deciding he might be needed, Clint placed his paintbrush down again and headed outside. 

From the barn, Clint could hear yelling. Suddenly there was the sound of a crash and a blur shot past, laughing hysterically. After a few moments, Tony stumbled into the yard, covered with mud and swearing under his breath. 

Clint couldn’t keep the smile off his face as the millionaire genius stumbled and slipped to the ground.

Ok, the animal could stay.


	7. Mother's Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Barton's celebrate.

“Get up Road Runner, Rise and shine.” 

Pietro flinched as the blanket was pulled off him, cool morning air a startling contrast to the warm cacoon he had created for himself.

“Neh!” He muttered, blindly reaching for the blanket, his eyes refusing to open. The blanket was out of reach so the speedster did the next best thing, rolling over, away from the voice and curling up into a ball.

“Come on Speedy. Don’t make me drag you out of bed.”

Pietro could only groan. 

Another voice appeared from behind the dozing speedster.

“Come on Pete! Get up, get up, get up.”

More hands were on him, shaking his shoulder. Finally, Pietro relented, rolling back onto his back and forcing his eyes open. Cooper was at his side, half kneeling on the bed, his hand still on Pietro’s shoulder. Using his superspeed, Pietro reached up, lightly jabbing his fingers into Cooper’s side, causing the boy to squeal and tumble off the bed.

“Quiet. Laura is still asleep.”

Pietro looked up at Clint, the archer was standing before the bed, Pietro’s missing blanket draped over his shoulder. The archer gave both his visitor and his son a hard look.

“Kitchen, five minutes.” He ordered. He pointed his finger at Pietro. “Don’t make me go Captain America on your ass.” 

Dropping the blanket onto the floor, Clint left the room. After a few bounces on the bed, Cooper jumped up and ran after him, the sound of the boys footfall softened by his socks as he ran after his father. 

Groaning, Pietro rolled out of bed and squinted at the window. It was still very dark outside, the sun at least an hour away from rising. With a sigh of defeat, Pietro stumbled towards the wardrobe, pulling out a clean t-shirt and stripping out of his bed clothes. 

Seven minutes later, the speedster stumbled down the stairs, still trying to shake off the last traces of sleep. Slowly, he made his way into the kitchen and almost crashed into Clint.

“About time.” The archer snorted, turning back. “Ok guys. Here’s the drill. I’ll start the bacon and eggs. Cooper, you man the toaster. Lila and Pietro, you guys make the pancake mix.”

From the kitchen counter, Lila waved at Pietro. The girl was sitting on a chair that had been pulled to the bench. Before her was a bowl, a bag of flour, some eggs and what looked like a jug of the milk Pietro had successfully collected the night before. 

“What is all this for?” Pietro asked, running a hand through his wild hair.

“Duh! It’s Mother’s Day.” Cooper said from where he stood by the toaster, two pieces of bread already in his hands. At the stove, Clint had already set several items. Pietro could hear the oil in the frying pan start to sizzle. 

“Mother’s Day?” The speedster asked, feeling confused. 

“The day we give mommy presents and hugs and make her breakfast in bed!” Lila said, pulling the bag of flour towards her. Pietro sped to the counter, catching the bag as the girl lost her grip on it, preventing a floury mess on the floor. 

“Do you mean it is Laura’s birthday?” The speedster asked as Lila impatiently tried to open the bag in his hands. At the stove, Clint snorted.

“Nah. It’s just a commercial holiday to drum up business at Walmart.” 

Pietro still felt confused as Lila poked his arm, trying to gain his attention. 

“I do not understand.” 

“Don’t you ever do something special for your mom?” Cooper asked before Clint managed to shush him. But Pietro wasn’t listening any more. Instead, he was thinking back, to one morning when he was a lot younger when his father had woken him and Wanda up early to make their mother breakfast. It had been a simple affair, just cereal and milk. But their mother had loved it, along with the flowers Pietro and Wanda had picked the night before, just for her. Their father had said they were celebrating how wonderful their mother was and how much she had given up for them all. 

Only a few months later, both Pietro’s mother and father were dead and he and Wanda were caught in the cycle of orphanages that would eventually lead them to living on the streets before Von Strucker snapped them both up. 

Pietro blinked back the unexpected tears that thinking of his family had caused. 

In front of him, Lila had managed to get the bag of flour open and with limited success, transfer some into a mixing bowl. Putting the bag down, Pietro immediately began to help the girl make the mixture before handing the full bowl over to Clint to cook. Clint delighted in showing everyone how well he could flip pancakes and Pietro managed to earn a spatula to the face when he had stolen a pancake in mid-flip. 

Finally, the breakfast tray was ready, a pile of pancakes and a plate of bacon and eggs along with a cup of coffee and toast. 

Cooper was given the honour of carrying it to the bedroom while a carefully wrapped present was handed to Lila. Pietro had ducked outside for a moment before following the kids and Clint towards the main bedroom. 

Laura was still asleep but it wasn’t for much longer as Lila dropped the wrapped present into Clint’s arms so she could climb into the bed with a shriek of “Mommy!” It was only Pietro’s quick reflexes that stopped the tray being dropped as Cooper decided to follow his sister, jumping onto the bed and into his startled mother’s arms with a cry of “Happy Mother’s Day!”

“Hello.” The woman laughed, cuddling her two children close. She looked over Lila’s head at Clint. “And good morning husband.” Clint grinned. 

“Good morning wife.” He said. Placing the present down safely, the man jumped onto the bed, causing Laura to laugh and the kids to giggle at their father’s antics. Pietro couldn’t help but smile as Clint gave Laura a kiss. “Happy Mother’s Day.”

Turning, Clint indicated to Pietro to bring the breakfast tray to the bed. The speedster did as instructed, placing the tray by Laura’s side so the woman could reach the food without accidently knocking it over with her pregnant stomach. 

Laura smiled. Her smile grew as Pietro pulled the small bunch of flowers he had managed to pick when he had run outside, from behind his back.

“For you.” The speedster said. 

“Thank you Pietro.” The woman replied. 

Pietro handed the flowers over and then tried to retreat to the door to let the family have some private time. But Laura wasn’t having any of it, grabbing Pietro’s arm and pulling him onto the bed, the breakfast tray shifting dangerously at the speedster’s sudden weight. 

Suddenly, Pietro had found himself pressed against Laura’s left side with Cooper while Clint had plastered himself on her right, Lila between them, the breakfast tray and present forgotten as the woman planted a kiss on her husband. Kisses for both children followed. Much to Pietro’s surprise, he also earned a kiss on the cheek. 

After a few moments, Pietro relaxed, Laura threading her fingers through his hair in a comfortable gesture. 

“Happy Mother’s Day Laura.” The speedster said, enjoying the feeling as he lay on the bed with the family who had opened their home and hearts to him. It was nice to celebrate the woman who was almost like a mother to him.

“And thank you all.” Laura said to the group. “I have a wonderful family.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A belated Mother's Day fic to celebrate mothers everywhere. To all the mothers out there, I hope you had a brilliant day with your loved ones.


	8. Bar Fight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Clint takes his adopted speedster to a bar and Pietro overhears something he doesn't like.
> 
> (Warning: This one gets a little violent and nasty)

It had been a long day. 

Hell, it had been a long week.

But finally, Friday had come around and Clint was eager to reward his hard work on the renovations and had dragged Pietro out to a bar in the closest town as celebration. 

Pietro had been in plenty of bars back home in Sokovia but never one like this. Burly men dressed in old work clothes trudged back and forward from the bar to the pool tables to their booths, the tired waitresses winking at them and smiling as the men gawked and laughed and spilled beer, a few gathering around a tv to cheer and shout, enjoying a game that Pietro didn’t understand.

From his place in the corner booth, Pietro sat with Clint, watching this display of life. 

He hadn’t wanted to come out. Instead, he would have been content with his normal routine on the farm, his afternoon spent with either driving lessons (Clint was horrified that Pietro didn’t know how to drive a car and was determined to have him ready for his licence before he left) or renovations, the night helping Laura with dinner and Clint with the night jobs, feeding and milking Elsa (The honour of naming Pietro’s cow had gone to Lila after Pietro had been unable to come up with a suitable name that Clint would accept. The little girl had enjoyed dancing around the barn and singing ‘Let It Go’ as Pietro did the nightly milking and had found delight in helping the speedster feed the gentle creature.) Playing a few video games with Cooper and reading to Lila (They were now onto The Prisoner of Azkaban. Pietro had serious suspicions about this Professor Lupin.) Before curling up in bed with his laptop for his nightly skype session with his sister. 

But Clint had been insistent. The archer rarely got to go out to a normal bar, given that his normal friends were either well known superheroes who would attract too much attention to Clint’s quiet home or Natasha, who had apparently gone to this bar once with Clint and had subsequently been banned for life for breaking someone’s arm. Clint had yet to tell Pietro that story but given all he had learnt about the Black Widow, the speedster could take a guess as to why she had done it. 

So instead, Pietro had found himself in this place, dressed in jeans and a leather jacket that Tony had added to the pile of clothes he had gifted the kid after Ultron. Clint was seated on the other side of the booth. Neither spoke, both content with watching their surroundings, Clint because he was an assassin and his impaired hearing and Pietro because he had long ago learnt just how bad these places could be. 

Men who drank to excess were dangerous. Pietro could still remember an incident, back home when he was living on the streets with his sister, when a group of drunk men had approached Wanda with ill intent. Thankfully the men hadn’t managed to touch her, Pietro’s instincts and fast reflexes helping to get the twins away before the men could do anything. But it had led Pietro to be distrustful of those who drank to excess. 

Still, he had accepted the beer Clint had bought him, blushing slightly as the waitress grinned and winked. Clint had found that amusing, no doubt understanding that Pietro had very little interaction with the opposite sex outside of his sister, Clint’s own family and the Avengers.

The two men had briefly discussed the futility of Pietro drinking. Like the Captain, his system ran too hot for alcohol to have any real effect. Clint had immediately begun making plans for Thor’s Asgardian liquor after learning this.

Enjoying the beer, Pietro had relaxed, trying to ignore his misgivings about being in this place and soak in the culture so different from his own. 

That was why his eye had been drawn to the group gathered around the tv as the game changed to show a news station. 

Suddenly, the cheering had turned into hoots. In front of him, Clint had turned around to see what all the fuss was about. On the screen, both men could see the footage, some sort of news article about the Avengers. As the screen showed Natasha, the hoots had grown louder. Pietro could make out a few words from the cheering crowd. They were not complementary. 

Suddenly, Wanda appeared on the screen, next to Vision, her new uniform a noticeable, bright red, like a beacon. 

The hoots continued. Pietro felt his face flush as these men, these fat, old, drunk men, began to degrade his sister, using the most vulgar terms they could think of to describe her. For a moment, Pietro wished his English wasn’t as good as it was, wished that he hadn’t heard his sister verbally abused by these men, as if she were nothing more than a piece of meat.

A sharp pain flared in his leg. Pietro tore his eyes away from the crowd to Clint, the archer shaking his head slightly at the speedster. Quickly, the archer looked down at the table where Pietro’s hand was curled into a fist, his knuckles white. The kick in the leg enough for Pietro to realise his actions.

“I wouldn't get involved if I were you.” The archer said simply, taking a long drink of his beer, although Pietro couldn't help but notice Clint's own clenched fist.

“Why not?” Pietro hissed, already feeling the rage build.

“Because there is no stopping stupidity.” Clint said with a calm shrug. “These guys are cowards. They only do this because they know your sister can’t hurt them in return. Nat gets the same all the time. Why else do you think she was banned from here?”

Pietro felt the anger roll off him. 

“So they can get away with it?” The speedster asked.

“There are hundreds, if not thousands of guys doing this everyday. Even if you were to fight as hard as you could, you would never get them all. Everyone in the public eye gets it. Hell, you should hear what some of these idiots have to say about Stark or even Captain Bloody America. The only way to change it is to raise kids who respect others, which is not these idiots. Until then, we have got to grow a thick skin and move on.”

Pietro couldn’t help but say the one thing he had never thought he would say. “But the Avengers do good work. Why do they degrade that work?” He asked. 

Clint shrugged. 

“Again, cowards. When the world is in danger, they come running to us for help but when they think they are safe, we are the targets.”

Pietro deflated slightly. He may be young but he had seen the world for what it was. He had watched the news from his hospital bed, he had heard the hatred. He had stood in the protests, cursing American greed. He knew, as distasteful as it was, what Clint was saying was true. But it hurt when his sister was the target. 

Bowing his head, Pietro stared at his beer.

It was just bad timing that caused the four men to pass the two hero’s booth, one of them, a 30-ish man, the group’s leader describing what he would do to the Scarlet Witch. 

“Man, that little brunette thing! I would wreak her! Totally destroy her!” The man said in a loud voice, his companions laughing at his words.

No force in the world could have stopped Pietro, his very limited control snapping as he turned to the men.

“Why do you degrade someone who has done you no harm?” He asked, loud enough to gain the groups attention. 

The man turned, unfocused eyes falling in confusion on Pietro. On the other side of the booth, Clint groaned and closed his eyes, knowing the battle was already lost. For a moment, anger flashed across his face.

“What did you say boy?” The man questioned, turning his nose up at Pietro.

Pietro’s voice lowered, his accent becoming more noticeable. More dangerous.

“I said, why do you degrade her. She is a better person than you could ever be.”

The man looked gobsmacked. Blood shot eyes turned to Clint.

“Who the fuck is this Barton?” He questioned, colour rising in his ruddy face.

Clint slowly shifted in his seat, swinging a leg up to rest on the vinyl of the booths seat. Only Pietro could see the strain on the archer face.

“Backpacker I am employing. The kids from Europe.” The archer said, giving out the backstory they had agreed to. 

The man sneered. 

“This little queer?” He said in a loud voice. “What is he, Russian?”

Without waiting for an answer, he turned to his friends. 

“What say you boys? Let’s take this little commie bastard out back, teach him a lesson.” The group cheered. 

Pietro suddenly became aware of everyone in the bar watching the exchange, a gentle murmur filling the room. He turned to Clint. The archer shrugged.

“Go ahead. Show them what you are made of.” He said simply, picking up his beer. Only Pietro saw the wink the archer gave him. Realising what the older man meant, Pietro fought to suppress a smirk. 

Slowly, he stood up to his full height. Pietro was not tall, but he was taller than the drunk man, the leather jacket cut in such a way as to show his muscular physique.

Even the gentle murmur stopped, everyone now holding their breathes, wondering what was going to happen.

“After you.” Pietro said, quietly. 

The men, clearly thinking they had the upper hand, turned towards the door, one of them reaching up and grabbing Pietro’s jacket by the collar. Pietro didn’t bother to shrug the hand off, letting the men lead him out the door and into the cool night, away from the watching crowds. Pietro waited as the men led him to the edge of the carpark, out of sight of the bar, no doubt already gleefully thinking of what they planned to do to him. Pietro waited as the man behind him let go of his jacket and pushed past to join the group. The leader cracked his knuckles. 

“Alright you little piece of…” He turned back. 

Pietro was gone. The man blinked. Slowly, he stepped forward. He hadn’t even heard the kid move.

After a few seconds, he turned, laughing.

“The coward. He ran…” 

A blue blur sped past, sending the man flying through the air to land heavily on the bonnet of the nearest car. A laugh echoed through the dark as the man cried out in pain. One of his friends gave a shout of surprise, the three drawing closer and looking around wildly. 

Suddenly, one of them was gone, the blue blur rushing past and pulling the hapless man with him. The man appeared again, crashing into the side of the building. 

“What tha…” a third man was sent flying, this one landing in a heap on the hard dirt. 

The last man standing looked around wildly, trying to see the attacker. In an instant, he was on the group, clutching at his stomach as Pietro stood over him. The speedster turned, looking at the fallen men. The one who had been thrown to the ground was trying to stagger to his feet. Moving to the man’s side, Pietro kicked the man in the stomach, making the man shout like a wounded animal before throwing up on the cold ground. 

The man who had been thrown into the wall was leaning heavily against it, reaching for something. Pietro saw it and moved forward, grabbing the gun before the man had even managed to touch his holster, removing the bullets and throwing the weapon away. Then he punched the man in the jaw. 

The man dropped to a heap at the white haired man’s feet. 

Pietro turned. The first man, the one who had the gall to insult his sister was staggering to his feet. Suddenly, the man was running towards Pietro, fists raised. Pietro moved, feeling time slow down around him as he ran, grabbing a rope from the back of the nearest truck. Quickly, he tied it around the man’s legs, attaching the other end to a tree on the edge of the car park. 

The speedster returned to his spot to watch the chaos as the rope pulled tight, the drunk man landing face first into the ground. Pietro was suddenly on him, pulling him onto his back.

“Say you’re sorry.” The Sokovian ordered. 

The man looked up at him, terrified as blood dripped down his face.

“Sorry.” He whimpered.

Pietro punched the man, watching in satisfaction as the man’s head snapped back.

“Say you will never speak like that about a woman again.” He instructed. 

The man was shaking in fear. 

“Never again, I swear.” 

Pietro reached forward, grabbing the man’s hair and pulling him up so he could whisper in the man’s ear.

“I will be watching.” He hissed.

He pushed the man back to the ground and climbed to his feet, lightly stepping over the rope still wrapped around the man's legs. 

At the door to the bar, Clint stood, waiting for Pietro. 

“Fun way to end the night.” The archer commented, shrugging on his jacket and pulling the keys out of his pocket. Pietro, still too high on anger to reply, turned and followed the other man to where the car was parked, wordlessly climbing into the passenger’s seat. 

Clint didn’t bother to try and force the kid to talk, instead simply turning on the engine and beginning the journey home. 

About ten minutes into the journey, Pietro relaxed.

“I shouldn’t have done that.” He said. “They will know now, what I am. They have seen me run and know you are housing me.”

Clint snorted.

“Please. No one in the bar saw and those assholes were so drunk, they won’t remember anything except you winning the fight. And even if they do remember you seemingly breaking the sound barrier, no one would ever believe them. They are drunk.”

Pietro blinked.

“So I am not in trouble.” He asked.

Clint shrugged.

“Not with me. Personally, if you hadn’t done something, I would have.” He said “But when this gets back to Steve, and it will get back, you had better be prepared to do some explaining.”

Pietro’s shoulders dropped slightly.

“Maybe I could stay with you for longer?” He questioned, hopeful to avoid the Captain’s disappointment. 

Clint laughed. 

“You can’t run from Captain America kid. The guys got the nose of a blood hound and the face of a kicked puppy.”

Pietro groaned and threw his head back into the head rest of the seat.

“Oh and just so you know, you earned yourself a life time ban from the bar. Nat is going to be so proud.” 

Pietro couldn’t help but smile. He didn’t really like bars anyway.


	9. Nightmare Part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pietro has another bad night and Clint has a story for him.

The sky was a dreadful grey, clouds swirling ominously as Pietro walked through the field, the once green grass drying up under his feet. There was a cool, metallic ting to the air, a sense of danger as the speedster looked around, wide eyes searching for someone, anyone familiar. 

Pausing at the top of a hill, Pietro shivered and rubbed his arms to fight the cold, his blue, white and grey running top, the same one he had worn while fighting with the Avengers, doing little to keep him warm. He looked down at his running shoes, almost black with mud, the dirty splattered all the way up his black running pants. A gust of wind buffeted him, leaving him even colder as he shifted uncomfortably.

Somewhere in the distance, there was a boom, like thunder rolling across the sky. Pietro glanced up. Through the clouds, he could make out flashes, like fire in the sky. Like a bombardment. Pietro had never been overly religious but even he could see, it looked like hell.

He turned to look back down the hill. There, in the distance was the Barton house. It was dark, a lonely structure in the dead field, only the porch light on like a beacon in the dim. Mist was starting to roll in, surrounding the house in an eerie white.

There was a scream followed by another boom. Fear washed over the speedster. He turned and ran, pushing himself to his limits as he flew down the hill and towards the dark house. Jumping onto the porch, the speedster pushed the door open and shot inside. 

It was just as cold inside as it was outside, the dark halls greeting him, all so familiar and yet so alien to him. Using the faint light from the porch, Pietro walked slowly through the house, listening for anyone, dread building. 

Slowly, he walked through the building towards the stairs, praying that someone, anyone, was upstairs. 

There was a click. Pietro’s head shot around, searching for the noise. A faint buzzing reached his ears, a gloomy glow suddenly coming from the direction of the living room. Slowly, hesitantly, the speedster moved towards the room, peeking in. 

There was a figure sitting on the couch. The tv was on, showing nothing but static, the bright light washing the room in a creepy glow. Stepping in, Pietro felt a small amount of relief as he recognised the short, light hair of his friend. 

He cleared his throat, hoping to gain the archers attention. Clint didn’t move, didn’t acknowledge the speedster. A feeling of uncertainty washed over the white haired man as he drew closer to the couch, laying a hand on Clint’s shoulder. The older man was cold to the touch. 

Pietro’s heart began to race as he turned, looking at the archer. 

Clint’s eyes were open, staring into nothing, his face pale. He was dressed not in his normal shirt and jeans but his purple and black tactical gear, his quiver and bow on the seat next to him. Pietro felt his eyes drawn to the multiple bullet holes in the archer’s vest, blood dripping slowly down his chest. Pietro stepped back in horror, tripping over his own feet in his hurry, his breath coming in short, terrified gasps as he realised the truth. The archer was dead. 

Somewhere outside, there was another scream. Pietro felt his blood turn to ice, fearful for the rest of the Barton family. Turning, Pietro ran outside, blindly searching for the noise. Something grabbed his leg, sending him to the muddy ground. Pietro stumbled to his hands and knees, looking around wildly. He fought back a cry as he realised he had landed in a murder scene. Laura was lying on the ground, Cooper sprawled next to her. A little way off, Lila was lying by Black Widows side, the assassin’s prone form on top of Thor. Doctor Cho was lying face down, half under Doctor Banner. Others were sprawled in the mud. Miss Potts, Doctor Foster, Sam Wilson, Maria Hill and Colonel Rhodes. Even Vision was no more than a pile of parts. Pietro looked down at his muddy hands, realising the rich colour was the dirt mixing with his friend’s blood.

The strange light flashed, drawing Pietro’s eyes up to the hillside. Out of nowhere, Captain Rogers appeared, dressed in his blue, red and white Avengers uniform, his eyes glowing a strange red in the dark. 

The supersoldier was holding his shield out in front of him. Suddenly, Iron Man appeared and barrelled into the soldier, sending the two flying to the ground in a heap. The Captain was the first to his feet, raising his shield and bringing it down hard on the armoured head with a metallic crack. Iron Man reached up, as the Captain stepped back and raised his shield for a second blow, catching the shield on the downswing. A blast of a laser from Iron Mans palm hit the Captain in the side as the mechanic rose to his feet. Twin lights appeared at his feet, sending him flying into the air. The Captain ducked as another laser was shot at him and retreated, regrouping before diving at the other man, the deadly battle began again. Behind Pietro, someone laughed. Pietro turned. 

Wanda was standing on the porch, dark hair framing her pale face. In the dim, Pietro could see her eyes glowing a magical red. She was smiling as she watched the two heroes fight, not aware of the distress of her twin. 

Struggling to his feet in the mud, Pietro found his mouth open in horror at his little sister. The splash of mud was enough to attract her attention. Wanda turned, her red eyes falling on her mud covered brother. Her smile widened, her hands starting to glow. A dark figure stepped out from the shadows behind her, a dark hand reaching up to rest on her shoulder. The dark figure turned towards Pietro, red glowing eyes fixing on the horrified speedster as the sky opened up, fiery rocks beginning to fall to the ground.

“Well…Hello.” Ultron said.

\------

A pair of hands were on his shoulder, holding Pietro down. The speedster, lost in his own world, struggled blindly, screaming for help. 

Someone, somewhere was shouting his name. Pietro fought hard, trying to escape the hands. Using all his straight, Pietro pushed the hands away and shot to his feet, blind to his surroundings. There were crashes as he hit the wall and bounced, grabbing hold of the door as he looked around wildly, slowly becoming aware of his surroundings. He blinked. His bedside lamp was on the floor, the light casting shadows on Hawkeye, who was groaning on the floor. 

Sliding to the floor, Pietro curled into a ball, trying to shake off the fear as sweat dripped down his face. 

On the other side of the room, Clint slowly rolled over, kneeling on the floor beside Pietro’s bed. He and Laura had been awoken by Pietro’s muffled screams. Leaving his wife to rest, the archer had entered Pietro’s room and realising that the speedster wasn’t going to wake up, had decided to wake up the younger man himself. He hadn’t expected the violent reaction from the other hero, nor had he been prepared to be thrown across the floor, the speedster colliding with the wall in his blind panic. 

Although Clint couldn’t see Pietro’s face, he could still hear the younger man’s panicky breath as he struggled to hold himself together. 

Shuffling on his knees, Clint slowly moved closer, treating Pietro like a skittish animal. 

“Pietro?” The archer softly asked, his eyes on the shaking figure. Pietro’s head shot up, wide eyes looking around wildly. “Hey kid, just breath.”

Sitting still, Clint waited for Pietro to become comfortable again. After a few minutes, Clint’s patience paid off, the speedster slowly unfolding from his ball, his shaking lessening. 

“Feeling better?” The archer asked, leaning on his heels. The speedster glared, face flushed at being caught in a position of weakness. Quickly, he stood up, pushing past the sitting archer and grabbing the blanket. Climbing back onto the bed, the speedster pulled the blanket over his body and turned so his back was to the archer. 

Clint sighed. Rising to his feet, the older man went to the bed and sat down as Pietro shifted, curling into a ball on the bed. 

“So…” He said. “Wanna talk about it? It will make you feel better.”

Pietro turned to shoot Clint a glare. Clint ignored it. 

“You know what, you don’t have to say anything. I can guess. Ultron, right?” 

Pietro stiffened. Clint felt his shoulders drop. Oh boy. He could guess what was bothering the younger man.

“You know, it wasn’t your fault.” Clint continued. “Ultron manipulated you.”

“We almost destroyed the earth.” The speedster said, refusing to turn and look at Clint. “Everyone would have died because of my sister and I.”

Clint looked at the tense line of Pietro’s back. He sighed and turned, lying down in the small space left on the bed. 

“Pietro, do you know how the Avengers first assembled?” The archer asked, wiggling closer until his shoulder was against Pietro’s back. He looked at the younger man.

After a few moments of silence, the white haired man shook his head. 

Clint sighed.

“I was working for SHIELD, assigned to guard an alien artefact called the Tesseract under the orders of my SHEILD handler, Agent Phil Coulson. We didn’t know that the time that it was a door to another universe. One day, it activated, and this guy called Loki came through. Loki is Thor’s brother and let me tell you, the guy is batshit insane.”

Pietro turned, looking at the archer in confusion. 

“Anyway, Loki had this sceptre which he could use to make people do anything. He used it on me, making me give away all of SHIELDs secrets. Suddenly Loki knew everything about us and how to beat us. SHIELD called in the Captain and Stark to help Nat contain him. Then Thor came in and Loki was captured. But they didn’t know that Loki had planned for this. He had me lead an attack on SHIELDs secret helicarrier, using Doctor Banner as a distraction so he could get the Tesseract. I went up against Nat and she knocked me out. But Coulson, my handler and friend, more like an older brother to me then my own one ever was, decided to go after Loki. He knew that if Loki got what he wanted, almost no one could stop him.”

Clint sighed.

“Phil died trying to stop Loki. That evil son of a bitch knew what my friend would do because I told him. Loki stabbed Phil with the sceptre and left him to bleed out on the floor of the helicarrier. My friend and handler, the first person I ever trusted in SHIELD, died because I gave Loki the information to beat him.”

Pietro had turned on the bed and was watching Clint with wide, blue eyes. The archer took a moment to compose himself. Even after all this time, it still hurt to talk about this.

“The Avengers was Phil’s plan. A failsafe to stop people like Loki. But I don’t think he realised it would take his death to bring it about. We stopped Loki for Phil and the Avengers were formed.”

Clint finally met Pietro’s eyes.

“I had to see a lot of people who all told me it wasn’t my fault. But let me tell you something. No matter how many people say otherwise, I will never stop blaming myself for all those who died. I got Loki onto the helicarrier and caused Phil’s death. But the best thing I ever did was talk about it. Because although I blame myself, whenever I get down, whenever I start doubting myself, I know my friends and family are there for me. They will be there through the nightmares, through the guilt.”

“Yes, Ultron used you and your sister. But we don’t care about what you did when you didn’t know better. You have friends who will always be there for you. Because we may not be able to convince you that you are not at fault but we are going to be there when you have the nightmares, when you feel the guilt. Me, Laura and the kids, the rest of the Avengers to help you through. We are not going to abandon you. That I can promise you.”

Pietro remained silent but Clint could see the look, part disbelief, part trust, that the speedster was giving him. 

Slowly, Pietro inched closer until he was pressed against the archer. Clint responded by wrapping his arms around the younger man. Against his chest, Pietro gave a small sniff.

“Thank you.” He whispered, starting to relax.

Clint smile down at the white head. 

“Anytime road runner. Anytime.”


	10. Laura

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Laura Barton wasn't always the gentle wife and mother we know her to be.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger warning: This chapter contains reference to a miscarriage. Also assassins being assassins. If either of these things make you uncomfortable I suggest you skip this chapter. It is not really an important chapter anyway and the next one will be much more exciting and feature a baby!
> 
> There is also a brief appearance of a character from Agents of SHIELD. But you don't have to have seen it. Hell, I am way behind so I have no idea if this character could even be in this. Yet she still appears.

There was a loud shriek from outside, a blood curdling scream followed by even louder shouting. From her place in the living room, Laura Barton smiled. It had been like that all morning. Clint had left early, going to the Avengers HQ for a meeting before heading off on a short mission with Natasha to look into a possible sighting of Doctor Banner, giving the rest of the occupant’s freedom from the constant sounds of renovations. 

Cooper was outside, playing some sort of loud game with their guest. Pietro, although disappointed he couldn’t yet go to Avengers HQ, had been happy to indulge the younger boys games and even now, his own shouts were just as loud as Coopers, the young man using his super speed to run back and forth, much to the delight of the boy. 

Lila too was busy, her paper and pencils scattered all around the kitchen table, content to draw a few pictures for Daddy. It gave Laura a few moments to herself, sitting on the couch with a book, one hand on her stomach. 

The baby had been particularly active of late, keeping Laura up with back pains and nausea. It was almost as bad as her very first pregnancy. 

No, that had not been Cooper. Although she and Clint had two children and one on the way (and an adopted Sokovian but she hadn’t actually known Pietro for that long, despite the fact that she was now comfortable calling him one of her children.) She had actually been pregnant one more time.

Putting the book down as the baby shifted gently inside of her, Laura let her mind wonder back to the beginning. 

It would come as a shock to most that Laura Barton had not been a good girl. In fact, when she had first met her future husband, she had been a con artist, using her wit and beauty to con money and information from unsuspecting targets. Clint had been a freelance assassin and mercenary at that point, and the two of them had been swept up in a whirlwind romance that had burnt bright and fast. 

For the two months they had been together, traveling together, loving together, Clint taking small jobs from local crime groups and Laura picking her own targets. Clint had been very secretive, only letting little bits of his history to the woman who, neither of them would ever guess, would one day become his wife. 

But like all things in their line of work, it had ended suddenly. One day, Clint had simply failed to return to the hotel room they had shared. Laura, knowing that she was smart, beautiful and free, had simply decided not to let it get to her and moved on with her life. It had been a shock to learn only a few short weeks later, that Clint had left her with a parting gift. 

Realising she couldn’t hate the man for what had happened, Laura decided to call the baby Barney. It was a name Clint had mentioned in passing a few times and it seemed right that the baby would carry this little bit of his father, even if Laura planned never to see the assassin again. 

Baby Barney had been born in a small hospital in Thailand and had never taken his first breath. Laura hadn’t thought she would be affected by a death but the miscarriage had left her devastated. 

She had thrown herself back into her work, driving herself to exhaustion and taking riskier and riskier jobs, just to keep herself occupied. 

Her last con was her biggest mistake. The man she had been trying to con a few military secrets out of had turned out to be a defecting SHIELD agent, who had been given a death sentence by the organisation he had betrayed. SHIELDs famous Strike Team Delta had been sent in to finish the job and Laura had found herself face to face with the very man who had abandoned her. 

Clint still laughed about how her crappy aim had probably saved his life, Laura’s first reaction to seeing the assassin again was to pull a gun on him in an attempt to put a bullet in his brain for all the hurt she had endured from Barneys death, the bullet going wide and hitting one of the target's body guards as the man attempted to sneak up on the deaf archer. Unfortunately for both of them, this had alerted the defecting agent to their intentions, a mistake which had ended with the person Laura had once been, being declared legally dead. 

Laura was still unsure just what Clint had said to his two fellow agents, Phil Coulson and Melinda May, but soon a deal was struck. Laura would retire from the business and in return, the two agents would get her a new identity and not hand her over to SHIELD to be charged with selling military secrets. 

Suddenly, Laura Brown, cousin to Philip Coulson, appeared on the scene. At first, Laura had found it difficult to adjust to a normal, boring life, not to mention Clint’s continual check-ups on her more of an annoyance then a pleasure. But slowly, those small sparks of interest had returned. 

Laura had eventually told Clint about Baby Barney. Clint had been devastated, revealing that the reason he had disappeared had been because he was picked up by SHIELD after Phil Coulson had saved him from a gang he had previously worked for. 

Slowly, their romance had been rekindled. Soon, Laura found herself pregnant again, this time with Cooper. Clint had used it as an excuse to propose to her, claiming he wanted to do right this time. 

The wedding had been a small affair, taking place in an out of the way court house. Phil, as her ‘cousin’ had walked her down the aisle while Melinda had stood in as their second witness. 

Cooper Philip Barton had been born several months later. 

Knowing that Laura was craving something to do, Clint had invested in the farm, using the open spaces for the horses Laura bought to ride and train and the house as his own DYI projects. The archer continuing to take missions with SHIELD, partly to fund their farm and partly to keep Director Nick Fury from finding a reason to look into the history of the ‘exceptional woman who could entrap Clint Barton’. 

Laura had been pregnant again when Natasha Romanov had arrived on the scene. She would be lying if she said the female assassin hadn’t intimidated her at first. Natasha was a formidable woman and the friendship she shared with Laura’s husband had been worrying. The first time the two women had been introduced, Laura had been terrified, hearing stories of how this woman had murdered entire crime gangs in one go. But Natasha had herself been frightened, shyly asking to touch Laura's pregnant stomach. Instead of being in a room with a trained killing machine, Laura had found herself with a young woman who had been cheated out of a normal life. It was perfectly reasonable to share the olive branch of friendship. 

When Lila Melinda Barton had been born, Natasha had immediately been named God Mother and favourite Aunt, Laura confident that, should anything happen to her and Clint, Natasha would lay down her life to protect both kids from anyone who might harm them. 

It was Natasha who had kept Laura informed when Clint had been abducted by Loki and the Battle of New York had taken place. It was Natasha who had dropped Clint home in the aftermath and who had broken protocol to tell Laura that Phil was dead and Melinda was retired. It was Natasha who had helped Laura get Clint back on his feet after everything, help him to become an Avenger.

Natasha and Laura were now best friends, enough so that it was Laura who had suggested naming the new baby after the red head. Natasha had been shocked when Laura had approached her with the idea. She had already known about the kids names and how much of an honour it was to be asked, but had never thought herself worthy. If nothing else, Natasha had taken it as an excuse to visit the Barton farm more often, bringing little gifts for everyone and relaying funny stories about her and Clint’s missions, much to the archer’s embarrassment, as the red head found any excuse to admire Laura's growing stomach. 

Natasha had also confided in Laura about her interest in Doctor Banner, not that Laura needed to be told. She could see it clear as day. Laura had used the few minutes of quiet, as the Avengers trampled through her house in preparation to hunt down Ultron, to confront Natasha and give the other woman the push she needed to make a move. It was sad then that it hadn’t worked out, Doctor Banner going AWOL after the battle. 

Still, it wasn’t all bad news. The new Avengers looked to be a good addition and Pietro had been an added bonus to the family. 

Laura was keeping it secret from everyone but when the baby was born, she fully intended to ask the younger man for the honour of naming her baby after him.

After all, Nathanial Pietro Barton had a nice ring to it. 

Laura was brought out of her thoughts by a sudden, sharp pain. Surprised, she dropped the book. Inside her, the baby moved. Rubbing her belly, Laura slowly stood up, waiting in anticipation for any other pains. After a few minutes, there was another one. 

Hissing under her breath, Laura reached for the phone to call her husband. 

It looked like today was the day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I make no secrets that I love Agent Coulson and when it comes to him, I subscribe to the 'MIB' theory, mostly that he is related to MIBs Agent K. Hence why his 'cousin's' last name is Brown. Agent K's name when he was a civilian was Kevin Brown. I also love the idea that Clint would totally name his kids after people he admires.
> 
> I also found it fun to dive into Laura's head for once. We don't know much about her but I believe she would have to be an impressive woman to be married to Hawkeye and to be a mother figure to Quicksilver.


	11. The Birth

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Barton family welcomes its newest member.

You don’t tend to know how you will react to certain stressful situations. Pietro certainly didn’t when Lila had come running outside to where Pietro and Cooper were playing to inform the young man that her mummy wanted him in the house. Pietro had expected Laura to be requesting his assistance in making dinner. Certainly, he hadn’t expected to find Laura leaning over the kitchen sink, wincing through a contraction and breathing heavily. 

Pietro wouldn’t say he panicked at seeing his new found mother figure in labour. But, well….

He may have used his speed to try and collect everything for the hospital trip and fallen down the stairs. But he was sure Clint would never notice the splintered railing that had broken his fall.

And of course, Laura wouldn’t give him away. The woman was surprisingly calm, calling Avengers HQ and leaving a message for Clint, which Vision promised to pass on as soon as the archer was back from his mission, calling for Cooper and Lila to go to the car and picking up the bag she had somehow already prepared between contractions as Pietro ran around blindly. 

Finally, the woman seemed to lose patience with the speedster, grabbing him as he rushed past, shoving the overnight bag into his arms and pushing him out to the car with a firm order to get into the driver’s seat and drive everyone to hospital.

Pietro was just thankful he had been practicing driving with Clint. Still, that hadn’t stopped him having to jump out of the car and run back to the house several times to collect his phone, wallet, Lila’s favourite pencils and their current Harry Potter book, all before they even made it to the end of the drive way. 

The drive to the hospital was thankfully short and Pietro managed to stick to the speed limit, at least most of the time. Parking had been awkward, Laura using the last few moments to remind Pietro not to use his super speed in public. 

Pietro had managed, mostly, to stick to human speeds as he ran around the parked car to collect Laura’s bag and help Lila with her seatbelt. Thankfully, Laura had already called ahead and the nurses were expecting her. Pietro had found himself holding Lila and grabbing the back of Cooper’s shirt as Laura was rushed through the halls of the hospital and into the maternity ward. He didn’t need to be told that seeing their mother in labour would not be in either kid’s best interest. 

Approaching a senior nurse, Pietro had quietly asked if there was a waiting room. The nurse had given him an exhausted look before directing him to the maternity wards waiting room. Dragging the two young Barton’s behind him, Pietro had walked into the sterile room. 

The room was quiet, uncomfortable seats lining the white walls. There was a tv mounted to the wall in one corner where it couldn’t be removed, already on mute. Underneath, there was a box containing toys meant for young children. Several magazines were scattered on seats. 

There were only two occupants in the room. A young boy, not much older than Lila, was quietly flicking through a picture book. Next to him, sat an older woman, possibly his grandmother. The older woman was glaring up at the new arrivals, obviously not happy at having to share the waiting room. Pietro ignored it, taking a seat far from the woman. Cooper, already bored, walked over to the toy box and looked in, not seeming to notice the sneer the old woman gave him as Lila climbed onto the seat next to Pietro. 

The little girl rested her head against Pietro’s shoulder, looking up at him expectantly. Sighing, Pietro reached into his jacket and pulled out their current book. Opening it to their last page, Pietro began to read aloud, ignoring the huff of the old woman.

After a while, Cooper walked back to the seats, clearly bored of investigating the toy box. Sitting on Pietro’s other side, the boy pulled out his phone and started playing a game. 

After finishing the chapter, Pietro looked up. Across the room, the young boy was watching him, wide eyed. The boy seemed absolutely fascinated, either by the story or the Sokovian, watching Pietro intently. Slowly, the white haired man turned to look at Lila. The girl, who would normally give her full attention to the story, seemed distracted, her mind probably on her mother. Pietro sighed, knowing he wasn’t going to get much further in the story. Closing the book, Pietro pulled out the girl’s pencils and the colouring book he had grabbed before leaving the house for the third time. Handing them over, Pietro watched as Lila climbed off the seat and sat cross legged on the floor, picking up her pencils. 

The old woman gave another huff. “Immigrant!” Pietro heard her mutter. The woman staring down her nose at him now, as if the speedster had personally offended her. Pietro felt his face turn red. 

The click of the waiting room door opening was a welcome distraction, Pietro looking up as a nurse led a white faced man inside. The man was swaying on his feet and a bruise was appearing on his forehead. 

“Don’t worry. Not everyone can handle blood. Just take a seat.” The nurse told him, guiding him to a seat near the tv. “Someone will collect you when your wife needs you.” The nurse turned and left the room.

The man nodded, sinking into the seat the sympathetic nurse directed him to. In her corner, the old woman snorted.

“Pathetic.” She said. The little boy ducked his head beside her, not looking at the man.

The man lent forward in his seat, breathing hard. In a brief moment, he’s eyes caught Pietro’s. The speedster gave him a sympathetic smile which the man feebly returned before ducking his head and breathing heavily. 

After a minute the nurse returned with a cup full of water which she gave the sick man. 

The older woman suddenly cleared her throat. 

“Is there somewhere else he could go?” She said aloud. “It’s not fair to the rest of us.”

The nurse shot her a look. 

“Oh and nurse, I would appreciate a coffee.”

The nurse turned.

“Ma’am, if you would like a coffee, there is a cafeteria down stairs.”

The old woman stood up, face flushed.

“My daughter is giving birth! You should be helping me through this.”

The nurse gave the old woman a look before turning and leaving the room.

The old woman growled.

“The nerve.” She said.

With a theatrical sigh, the old woman stood up, grabbing a large handbag from under her seat. Turning to the young boy, she pointed a finger at him.

“Behave.” She ordered. The little boy ducked his head.

“Yes, grandma.” He said in a small voice. 

The woman turned and strode out of the room, not caring as she slammed the door behind her. Pietro lent back in his seat for a moment. Then he stood up. 

“I’m going to try and call your dad.” He said aloud as Cooper looked up questioningly at him.

The speedster turned and stepped out into the hallway. Looking around, he spotted the old woman striding down the hallway. As Pietro watched, she swung her handbag around, striking a patient who was walking in the other direction. The woman didn’t seem to care, ignoring the patient’s grunt of pain as she turned the corner and disappeared from view. Pietro made up his mind. 

Carefully, Pietro looked at his surroundings, trying to find the right room. After a few meters, he found it. Waited until it was clear, the Avenger employed his speed, ducking forward into a small room where he knew the doctors kept their medicines. Finding the one he wanted, Pietro sped out again, moving so fast that no one would have seen him move. 

Continuing to the cafeteria, Pietro entered the room, his eyes falling on his victim. The old lady was standing at the counter, instructing the poor girl on how to make a coffee. Walking to the back of the room, Pietro found exactly what he was looking for. 

An unguarded tray, left on a table after the occupant had finished, food still on the plate and the cup still half full. Grabbing the edge of the tray, Pietro moved the whole thing so it was balanced on the edge of the table. He griped the bottle he had stolen from the medical station tighter. 

At the counter, the old woman picked up her coffee and turned away. 

Pietro brought his hand down hard on the balancing tray, causing it to tip, the plate and cup crashing to the floor and drawing the attention of the room. As the old lady turned towards the noise, Pietro sped forward, moving so fast he was invisible as he dumped the medicine in the old woman’s coffee cup and retreated out of the room. 

Once outside, the speedster pressed himself against the wall, breathing hard at the sudden physical activity. Catching his breath, he grinned and looked down at the empty bottle in his hand, which had once been full of laxatives. The old woman was certainly going to have an interesting day. 

Whistling to himself, the speedster turned and made his way back towards the waiting room.

Cooper and Lila were still where he left them. After some gentle prodding, Pietro managed to encourage Lila to invite the little boy to draw with her as Pietro continued the book. The old lady didn’t return. 

After about an hour, Pietro was distracted from the book by Clint walking in. The older man was covered in dirt and sweat and Pietro couldn’t help but notice, still in his Avengers uniform although minus the quiver, bow and gloves. A shirt had been thrown over to hide the recognisable uniform as much as possible. After all, it wouldn’t do for anyone to know Hawkeye was in the hospital. 

Clint had quickly approached his family, hugging Lila and smiling at the boys. Quickly, he explain that he was heading into the delivery room to see Laura. Pietro had nodded and helped the archer detangle his daughter when Lila had refused to let go. Lila had not been happy. Clint had then passed some money to Pietro, asking him to take the kids for a walk and to get food for them. 

Pietro had agreed, steering the two out for an hour as Clint went to be with his wife. 

A few hours later, Pietro and the Barton kids were back in the waiting room. This time, it was empty save for them. According to Pietro’s watch it was now close to midnight. Lila was asleep, using Pietro’s jacket as a pillow as Cooper dozed against the speedsters shoulder. Pietro himself was struggling to stay awake, absentmindedly watching the muted tv. There was footage being shown of some sort of violent protest. Pietro didn’t know what it was about but he could make out some of the protesters signs among the angry faces, showing slogans like ‘Mutants Out!’ and ‘Homo Inferior, not Homo Superior’. It looked terrible. As Pietro watched, the footage showed the protesters throwing bottles at a group of people being led to a building by police. Pietro blinked. He must be so tired he was seeing things because although the group looked ordinary, Pietro thought that one of them almost looked like he had green skin.

The footage changed to some sort of press conference, a red haired woman talking from a platform. On the screen, a banner appeared showing her name. Doctor Jean Grey. 

Again, the footage changed, this time to a panel, no doubt speaking about whatever it was that had caused the protest. Pietro looked away. He had been involved in too many protests in the past. Besides, he doubted whatever it was this one was about would involve him unless it had something to do with the Avengers. 

Sighing, Pietro tried to make himself comfortable on the seat. 

The door opened quietly. 

Pietro looked up. Clint was standing at the door, this time dressed in hospital scrubs. The man was grinning, despite looking exhausted. Slowly, he walked into the room. Pietro raised an eyebrow in question. Clint just responded by widening his smile. 

Softly, the older man reached down and shook Lila by the shoulder. 

“Hey baby. Wake up.” He said to the little girl. Lila groaned, burying her head in Pietro’s discarded jacket. Pietro shifted, knocking Cooper out of his doze. 

Gently, Clint picked his daughter up as Cooper yawned.

“Daddy!!!” The girl whined as Pietro, now free of Cooper’s weight, stood up. Cooper followed, pressing himself against the speedster’s side in a show of exhaustion. Quietly, Clint laughed.

“Come and meet your brother.” He said. 

Turning, the archer carried the girl out of the room, Pietro guiding his boy out behind him. 

The four made their way down the hall towards a room. Shifting Lila to free up his arm, Clint pushed the door open and gestured for Pietro to lead Cooper in ahead of him. 

Laura was lying on a white hospital bed, her dark hair matted in sweat and her face pale. Her belly was still huge, a great white shape under the blanket. Beside her bed was a cot. Pietro couldn’t see anything inside it. The speedster stopped, Cooper still leaning against him, as Clint walked to the bed. 

“Hey.” He said softly before kissing Laura on the head. In his arms, Lila shifted to look at her mother.

“Mummy.” She whimpered. Laura reached up and ran a hand through the girl’s hair as Clint lowered her onto the bed beside her mother, Lila almost immediately falling asleep. Checking that his wife and daughter were comfortable, he then turned to the cot and picked something up. He turned towards the two boys, a white bundle of blankets in his hand. 

“Have a seat.” He said to Pietro, nodding towards a chair. 

Blinking, Pietro did as instructed, walking towards the seat, Cooper following him. Pietro sat down, Cooper sitting cross-legged beside the seat, as Clint approached with the bundle. 

“Hold out your arms.” The archer ordered. Pietro did, suddenly feeling nervous. The bundle was placed in his arms, Clint pulling at the blanket to reveal the sleeping baby’s face. Beside Pietro, Cooper shifted to see the baby.

Clint pulled away, leaving Pietro to hold the baby. He went to Laura’s bed where the woman had fallen asleep, no doubt exhausted from her labour.

“Meet Nathaniel Pietro Barton.” He said with a smile.

Pietro’s jaw dropped. Thankfully he didn’t drop the baby as he looked up at the archer, wide eyed. They had named their baby after him? 

Clint shrugged, clearly seeing the speedsters shock although he was smiling. 

“Laura chose. But I agree so don’t think you can fight us on this. All our kids are named after the people we admire.”

Pietro looked down again at the baby as Clint turned away, Cooper kneeling up beside him to see his baby brother.

“Hi Nate.” The younger boy whispered. 

There was a click from Laura’s bed. Pietro looked up to find Clint pointing his phone at them, clearly taking pictures. He pulled a face at the archer but didn’t dare move in case he accidentally woke the baby. The archer smiled and stepped forward, pulling gently at his sons blanket so his face was clearer before snapping another picture. 

“Gotta send one to your Auntie Nat.” He said. He began to type out the message, leaving Pietro once again, with the baby as Cooper sat back down, his head resting against Pietro’s leg. 

Pietro looked down at the little boy in his arms. He cleared his throat. 

“Welcome to the world, Nathaniel.” He whispered, smiling.


	12. The X-Gene

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After the speedster starts to withdraw from the Barton family, Clint thinks Pietro is suffering from Baby Envy. But what it is, is something far more damaging.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was watching X-Men the other day and all I could think of was how damaging it would be for young mutants to find out what they are during all the shit that went down.

Clint supposed, having Pietro around was good practice for Cooper and Lila's eventual tumble into puberty. That still didn't mean he knew what was wrong with the white haired avenger he had basically adopted. 

Pietro had seemed fine before Nate’s birth, helpful and caring of the two younger children, as if they were his own siblings and respectful of the adults who had taken him in. Hell, even during Laura's labour, when Clint had rushed back from a mission, all in a flutter over his growing family, Pietro had seemed in control, calm and collected where Clint had been all over the place. Laura had even mentioned how helpful Pietro had been, taking care of the two kids when she couldn't.

Maybe it had been leaving Pietro in charge of Cooper and Lila for two days while staying in the hospital with Laura and Nate had been what had changed Pietro

Laura had suffered bad post-natal depression, with all three kids. Normally, she would have suffered through it at home. But this time, Tony had decided to foot the hospital bill for the Barton's to allow everyone to recover and Laura to be treated. 

It had seemed like a good idea, Pietro taking Cooper and Lila home to give the parents some time to rest. But on coming home with the new baby, Clint and Laura hadn't expected the chance in the speedster. Pietro had gone quiet, hardly ever leaving the house except to milk Elsa. He didn't play with Cooper and Lila, didn't read night time stories. In fact, according to Cooper, all Pietro seemed to do was watch the news or sit in his room on his computer. 

Even after Clint and Laura got home, they noticed Pietro keeping his distance, eyeing the family. He even refused to hold Nate when offered.

He had even stopped calling his sister. 

The night after bringing Nate home, Clint had received a call from a pissed off Natasha. Apparently Wanda had become increasingly worried about her brother, who was no longer taking her calls. Natasha had become protective of the younger woman and was not happy to see her upset, giving Clint some choice words to pass along to Wanda's twin. 

The archer had passed them along, in the brief moment he could catch the speedster at the dinner table but as far as he was aware, Pietro had ignored him. 

Clint couldn't help but worry. Was Pietro withdrawing from them because he thought he wasn't wanted anymore? Was this some sort of jealousy over baby Nate? Was he worried because his sister was training with the Avengers and he felt he was being left behind?

Clint knew what it was like to feel like an intruder in someone else's life. So he had decided to arrange something special for the white haired man. 

On day five of Pietro's self-imposed exile, Clint had kicked his way into the speedster’s room and all but dragged the younger man out to the field where one of the Quinjets had been left. 

A trip to Avengers tower was in order. 

Tony had prided himself on providing the very latest technology for all the Avengers and uniforms were no exception. Although most of the Avengers were fairly easy to outfit, finding a fabric to accommodate Pietro’s speed had proven a serious challenge for the genius. Tony, being Tony, had thought nothing of sinking thousands of dollars into creating a new fabric and hiring world famous fashion designers to make Pietro a uniform, rather than simply pay a few hundred for some already made running shirts, like the ones Pietro seemed to enjoy wearing.

The genius had been busy trying to figure out this new challenge and had been desperate to arrange a meeting so Pietro could test out the results. 

Clint had initially refused. Pietro was at the farm to heal and dangling the idea of being on the team before he was allowed to, seemed cruel. But now it seemed it was needed. If Pietro really felt that he didn't belong, maybe this uniform fitting, to remind the speedster what he was working for, would be a good thing. 

Clint had also arranged for Doctor Cho to be at the tower. Pietro seemed to like the woman and no doubt it was getting close to the point where the speedster no longer needed to take the medicines she had prescribed. A final check-up might mean Pietro could get off medical leave. That way, he could at least start training with Clint in the range or out in one of the fields. At lease it would be a step in the right direction. 

Hell, if it were allowed and Steve promised to go easy on the kid, Clint saw no problem in going into the new HQ and letting Pietro run off some energy with the rest of the team.

But first they had to survive the tower.

Tony was his usual self, trying to be everywhere while also playing mad scientist. Pietro had been quiet as Tony's team of designers had man handled him, taking measurements and thrusting design ideas at the young man. Even Tony seemed to notice the kid’s slump and had worked hard to bring a smile to the speedsters face. He had failed spectacularly, Pietro detangling himself from the designer teams grasps as soon as possible and stating he liked his old shirt better in answer to their questions about designs before escaping the room. 

Well, it looked like it was up to Doctor Cho.

Clint had stood in for the first half of the exam as the Doctor had poked and prodded at the speedster, asking him questions and examining his almost healed injuries. 

But after a while of Pietro’s monotone replies, the Doctor had turned and asked Clint to leave the room. She wanted a talk with the speedster alone. 

Hoping the Doctor could talk the kid out of whatever slump he was in, Clint had left to find Tony who had wanted the opportunity for the archer to try out a few new arrows.

Clint had been on the range, Tony sitting behind a blast screen to watch the results, when Pietro had returned. 

The kid had looked paler then usual but had at least attempted to smile at the archer. Maybe he wasn't better but Clint hoped it was something. 

Clint had decided not to take Pietro to HQ but instead had flow the two of them home, calling ahead to Laura to tell her that Pietro had been given the all clear by Doctor Cho and a celebration was in order. 

Dinner back at the farm had been nice, Laura pulling out a bottle of wine for the three older members of the family and making a special meal to celebrate. Pietro, although still quiet, had at least tried to engage the rest of the family. He had even held Nate for a few minutes. 

That night, around midnight, Clint had found himself unable to sleep. His body clock had been off anyway, due to Nate’s nightly cries. Deciding it was pointless to try and sleep again, the archer had walked down stairs. He hadn't expected to find the speedster lying on the couch, watching tv. 

Pietro had seemed engrossed in some Fox News story about the anti-mutant riots in Washington. Clint had heard a bit about them recently. About how the government was demanding registration of mutants and the republicans increasingly drumming up fear as election season drew near. Hell, both Tony and Steve had been talking about it. Steve was clearly against the whole thing, sighting Nazi Germany as a historical example. Tony, on the other hand, had pointed out the good that registration would do in stopping any crazies. This whole Brotherhood of Mutants thing that had happened a few years back being an example. 

Clint didn't really know what to think. He had always been a believer in 'live and let live', knowing from experience that normal humans could be just as dangerous as mutants. 

Still, as bad as it was that Pietro was watching Fox News, Clint knew the kid was working hard to gain understanding about his new country. He would just have to remember at some point to tell Pietro how over the top Fox was. 

Returning to bed, Clint hadn't thought anything more about it.

Two days later, it seemed to all come to a head. Pietro's slump had returned, resulting in him losing his cool at Clint and throwing a bucket at him when the archer had cornered the speedster in the barn and demanded an explanation. Clint, shocked by Pietro’s behaviour, hadn't been able to stop the speedster from running off, too busy dodging the bucket. 

Fuming at the younger man’s behaviour, Clint had retreated to his range, picking up his spare bow and letting off a few arrows, imagining his target was the speedsters head. 

Clint had tried to be nice, to help the speedster but if he was going to act up, it looked like it was time for Pietro to go. Clint would contact Nat, the hunt for Banner be damned and get her to drag the speedster out of there. 

An hour later, as Clint quietly fumed and shot arrows, Cooper had entered the range, the younger boy breaking his father’s concentration. 

"Dad, something's wrong with Pete." 

Clint had fought not to snap at the boy. Of course something was wrong. The white haired man’s head was too far up his own ass.

Clint had gritted his teeth, not letting himself say what he we thinking in front of his son, instead answering with an "I know." he had expected Cooper to leave. Cooper didn't.

"Dad. He's crying." 

Clint had hesitated at that. To date, he had only seen the speedster cry once, during his nightmare. The kid had a good grip on his emotions, not allowing them to show most of the time. If he was crying, something was really wrong. Putting the bow down, Clint had given his son a reassuring smile. 

"I'll go and talk to him." he said, turning to the door.

Laura was standing at the porch, Nate in her arms, as Clint drew closer. She too, looked worried.

"He won't open the door Clint." the woman said. She didn't need to say who. No doubt she was the one who had sent Cooper to his father. Clint had nodded, placing his hand reassuringly on her arm before heading into the house. First, he headed to the kitchen, opening a draw and pulling something out before turning and making his was upstairs. At Pietro’s door, Lila sat, cross legged as she looked at the closed door. She looked away as her father drew near.

"Daddy?" she said uncertainly. 

"Go down stairs with Mummy, baby." Clint instructed. 

Slowly, Lila had nodded and stood up, padding down the hallway to the stairs.

Clint turned to the door, his hearing aids picking up the distressed sobs from within. He looked down at the lock on the door. Reaching into his pocket, Clint pulled the lock picks he had collected from the kitchen and got to work. A minute’s careful work and the lock gave way.

Slowly, Clint opened the door. In the dim, he could see Pietro lying curled up on the bed, his laptop next to him. The speedster was sobbing into the bed spread, his whole body shaking. 

Softly, Clint stepped into the room. This was worse than the nightmares. At least with the nightmares, Clint kind of knew what was going on.

"Pietro? Hey Road Runner. You ok?" he asked, stepping closer.

Pietro curled up tighter, refusing to look up.

"Go away." he ordered in a rough voice. 

Clint shook his head. 

"I can't do that." he said. "You have been acting funny all week. I need to know why."

"You don't want me here." the speedster chocked out.

Clint blinked.

"What? Of course we want you here. You are family now." 

Pietro didn't respond. Clint signed and sat down on the corner of the bed, careful not to startle the speedster.

"Do you want me to call your sister?" the archer asked.

The speedster frantically shook his head.

"No!" he couched. "Please don't. She can't know."

"Can't know what?" Clint asked. 

Pietro just shook his head, somehow making himself look even smaller as he buried his face in his arms. 

"Pietro, I need to know what is going on." Clint said. 

"You are going to throw me out." was the muffled response. 

"No I'm not." Clint argued, to little effect. His eyes fell on the computer screen. "What is that?" he asked.

Pietro didn't respond. Sighing, Clint reached over the speedster for the laptop, almost withdrawing in shock as Pietro flinched away from him, like the speedster expected the archer to harm him. Startled, Clint grabbed the laptop and withdrew a little, trying to give Pietro some space. He looked at the screen.

It was an email from Doctor Cho. 

Clint carefully read it.

_'Pietro,_

_I have run the test as you requested and can now confirm you are a carrier of the X-gene. No doubt this explains your survival in Sokovia. I have spoken to my colleagues and they have given me a list of people you can contact and support groups. A friend of mine, Doctor MacTaggert, specialize in this genetic trait and would be happy to talk to you anytime. Her email address is attached._

_Regards,_

_Helen Cho.'_

Clint looked up. He knew what the x-gene was. Hell, the media had speculated that he was a carrier himself, because of his abilities. The x-gene and the mutant riots had certainly been widely publicized. The amazing things carriers of the gene could do were wildly documented and used as an agent of fear.

And Pietro could do amazing things.

Dammit!

Everyone had thought Wanda and Pietro’s abilities had been the result of Hydras experiments. But no one else had survived. What if, instead of being enhanced like they originally thought, Pietro and Wanda were mutants? What if, instead of Strucker giving the twins powers, their powers had saved them from Strucker?

Clint felt his heart sink. Pietro had been watching a lot of Fox News. A show which loved painting mutants as abominations who needed to be destroyed. 

How would Pietro, someone who was still unsure of his place in the world, react to this?

Clint looked around the room. A bag was packed at the foot of the bed. Pietro was expecting to be kicked out, to lose the only stability he knew. It suddenly all made sense, Pietro’s refusal to contact his sister or talk to Clint, his secret talk with Helen Cho and his sudden anger at everyone. He wanted to distance himself so it would hurt less. He refused to contact Wanda so she wouldn't know about this. He was trying to protect her from the truth. 

Clint sighed and put the laptop down.

“You know this is no different, from us thinking you were enhanced, right?” He asked. 

Pietro was still sobbing but it seemed quieter now, like the younger man was listening. 

“Pietro, I owe my life to you, mutation be damned. But not just that. You are a member of this family now. You are a cool older brother to my kids and let’s face it, an annoying younger brother to Laura and me. We are never going to hold you here against your will, but we are also never going to force you out. We all care too much about you.”

The white haired speedster, still with his back turned to Clint, seemed to be drawing breathe easier. Reaching down, Clint laid his hand on Pietro’s shoulder. This time the speedster didn’t flinch.

“Will you tell everyone?” The speedster asked after a moment of silence.

Clint shook his head.

“It’s not mine to tell. Not to your sister, not to the Avengers and not to Laura and the kids. But trust me, they won’t judge you any more then I would. What the media want us to believe and what we really believe are two different things.”

Pietro slowly relaxed, taking comfort from the archer’s words. Clint patted his shoulder.

“I will leave you alone now so you can clean yourself up. Why don’t you unpack that bag and call your sister. Then come downstairs. Cooper and Lila really want to see you.”

Slowly, Pietro nodded. Getting up from the bed, Clint wandered back down stairs to his family, telling them all that their speedster was going to be ok. 

Pietro came down an hour later. The young man had showered and put on fresh clothes. His eyes were red and his face pale but for the first time in a while, he was smiling, a real smile. That night, he volunteered to hold Nate and started reading again with Lila. Clint had sat him down for a long, private discussion about Fox media and the Mutant Riots and helped Pietro type up an email to Doctor MacTaggert so the younger man could get some questions answered.

Later that night, when Pietro had fallen asleep on the couch while playing games with Cooper, his head resting on Clint’s shoulder, the older man allowed himself to smile.

The archer finally felt that everything was going to be ok.


	13. A New Avenger

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pietro wasn't expecting his first mission as an Avenger to happen so soon. It just seems to be a case of being in the right place and the right time.

To say, Pietro’s first time out in the field since Ultron was planned would be a mistake. It was more a case of being in the right place, at the right time. 

He and Clint had gone to HQ. Since discovering he was a Mutant, the Sokovian had been researching anything he could find on the subject, from the papers by Professor Charles Xavier to the political speeches of Hank McCoy. From the uncovered secret meetings of the Hellfire Club to the media coverage during the terrorist attacks by the Brotherhood of Mutants. Even personal accounts of people long dead were looked over as Pietro learnt what he could about the mutation which had given him his abilities. 

But there was only so much he could learn from the internet and trips to the library. It was time to find more information. It was time to get F.R.I.D.A.Y on side. 

He and Clint had been training out in the fields ever since the speedster had been given a clean bill of health, Clint teaching Pietro the basics of hand to hand combat and use of firearms as the two developed a way to incorporate everything with Pietro’s speed. Both men wanted to ensure Pietro had every option available to him, should he find himself out in the field. 

Using training, and a desire to see his sister again in person as an excuse, Clint and Pietro had made their way to Avengers HQ, carefully sidestepping the media which had taken to camping out in the area in hope of seeing the new Avengers. Pictures of Wanda and Vision in particular were prized by the media, who had become obsessed with the new members of the team. 

Captain Rogers had greeted them on the runway with a smile as the two had made their way from the Quinjet, the rest of the team filing out behind him, a few handlers following. The super soldier had offered a handshake to Clint and gave Pietro a pat on the back.

“Good to see you walked it off.” The older man said to the speedster. Pietro couldn’t help but grin. As Clint engaged the Captain in conversation, Pietro looked past him to the rest of the team. Vision was standing with War Machine and Falcon. But there were people missing. Black Widow was nowhere to the seen but what was more worrying for Pietro was Wanda’s absence. 

Eyes narrowing, Pietro shot a glance at Vision. He knew the android and his sister were close. The android must know the reason for Wanda’s absence. 

Suddenly, the speedster felt a familiar feeling brush against his mind. 

Turning quickly, the speedster found his arms full of his twin, the witch attempting to take her brother by surprise and sneak up on him.

Both twins bust out laughing, Pietro using Wanda’s momentum to swing her around in a circle before pulling her into a hug. Wanda held her brother close, running a hand through his white hair before the twins finally parted to look each other up and down. Although they had talked over skype almost every night, the twins hadn’t seen each other in person in a month, far longer than they were used to. 

Wanda looked good. She had put on a little bit of weight now that she had access to proper, regular meals and her figure had gone from skinny to curvy, with some added muscles now that she was training with the team. Her hair was longer now, with hints of blond through the dark locks. She had even picked up a slight tan, giving her a healthy glow Pietro had not seen in years. No wonder she had become a media darling since the unveiling of the new team members. She was beautiful. The new uniform certainly helped.

Pietro was proud of his sister for all she had done.

He said as much, leaning towards her in a whispered conversation so the rest of the Avengers couldn’t hear. Not that they would. The others were all careful to give the twins their space, knowing just how difficult it had been for them to be separated. 

By the time they had finished, the rest of the team were moving away, heading inside to continue their work. Wanda, still gripping her brother’s hand, had turned to lead him inside and show him the place she now called home. Both twins stopped as a red haired figure appeared, catching the rest of the team at the door to the complex. 

Black Widow was talking in a low voice as the twins approached, curious of what the woman had to say.

“We need to go now. He might not be able to hold out against them.” She was saying, her eyes fixed on Steve.

“What is going on?” Wanda asked as Pietro moved close to stand behind her, still gripping her hand. 

Steve looked away from Black Widow, staring at the ground for a moment as if to contemplate what he had just heard. The he turned to face everyone else.

“Doctor Banner was sighted a few hours ago somewhere in the Western corner of the Yukon Provence in Canada.”

Wanda grinned.

“That’s good, isn’t it?” She asked.

There was silence. Wanda’s smile disappeared. Pietro squeezed her hand. He could already feel that something was very wrong.

“This information was given to us by a mobile SHIELD unit. They picked up a radio conversation being broadcast to an unknown location and passed it on to Tony, who analysed it and sent it through to us. It is believed the information was being sent by Hydra to what we suspect is a small base hidden somewhere in the area.”

Pietro blinked.

“I thought you destroyed all the Hydra bases before Ultron.” He said. 

“Hydra hid under SHIELD for years. Most agents are trained in how to avoid detection. It is possible a few managed to escape our attacks and formed a mobile unit.” Clint said. The archer had moved around the group to stand beside Natasha, the two spies together again. 

Pietro nodded. 

“So, what do we do?” He asked. 

Steve bit his lip in thought. 

“If this is correct, Hydra may be after Banner. We can’t let him be taken.” The Captain stepped back so he was now the focus of attention of the group. “We need to get to him first. Natasha, we will need you at the front. Banner may panic and release the other guy if he knows Hydra is out to get him. We may need to put him to sleep for his own protection.”

Natasha nodded. 

“The rest of us will have to accompany as back up. If Hydra think they might lose the chance to capture Bruce, there is no telling what they will do, especially after losing the twins. And losing…..” Steve broke off, looking away for a moment. Sam stepped up, placing a hand on Steve’s shoulder. A look passed between them before Steve seemed to pull himself together. “We know that Hydra has and will use deadly force. I don’t want anyone getting hurt out there.”

Pietro couldn’t help but notice how the Captain briefly glanced at him, nor Clint’s sudden uneasiness. 

“Alright. Avengers Assemble.” 

\-----

Pietro sat in the Quinjet, in another of Tony’s exercise shirts and with a comm in his ear. He honestly hadn’t expected the Captain to allow him on this mission when he had approached him after the rest of the Avengers had run to get ready. Steve had been the most vocal when Pietro had first regained consciousness that the young man stay on the side lines and recover. 

The fact that the soldier had accepted Pietro’s demand without a fight just went to show how bad the situation was. 

Pietro knew from firsthand experience what it was like to be controlled by Hydra agents. Although he hadn’t really gotten to know Doctor Banner outside of the twins attack in South Africa and their brief acquaintance before the fight against Ultron, he would never wish the Doctor to be captured. 

The Quinjet was silent, most of the Avengers lost in thought as Black Widow piloted the aircraft. Next to Pietro, Wanda sat, her head resting against his shoulder, her eyes closed as she meditated. On the opposite side, Clint sat, dressing in his uniform with his bow on his lap. The archer was wearing sunglasses but Pietro could see the flicker of eye movement behind the smoky glass. After a moment, the archer reached into a pocket of his tactical pants and pulled his mobile out. 

“I should let Laura know where we are.” He muttered to himself, fiddling with the touch screen. 

Pietro snorted.

“She is not going to be happy about this. We promised we will be back for dinner.” The speedster observed. 

Opposite him, Clint shrugged. 

“She will be madder that I let you go on a mission, then the idea of us missing dinner.” 

Pietro nodded. He knew what the archer was saying was true. Slowly, Clint lowered his glasses, letting them rest of the tip of his nose as he looked over at the speedster. 

“Are you ready for this?” He asked quietly.

Pietro looked over at him. Slowly, the speedster nodded. 

\-----

They had walked into a disaster. That was all Pietro could think as he ran through the thick forest, ducking down to hide behind a fallen tree. 

Doctor Banner had been where the transmission said he would be, living in a tent in the thick forest of the Kluane National Park, when Hydra had struck. 

The Quinjet had arrived as Bruce had tried to flee from his attackers, leaping into the fight. Weapons had been drawn, shots fired. Pietro had jumped into the fight right away, using every trick he and Clint had worked on to stop the Hydra agents.

Black Widow had been taken by surprise, knocked unconscious with some sort of advanced stun gun, no doubt brought in by Hydra with the purpose of using on Doctor Banner. The next thing anyone knew, the Hulk had appeared, lashing out in anger at Hydra and Avengers alike. 

Several Hydra agents had been thrown before the group had decided to cut their losses and attempted to flee. Realising that the Hulk meant to kill them, the Avengers had split into groups, the twins rounding up and securing the injured Hydra agents with Hawkeye, Captain America, Falcon and War Machine trying to deal with an enraged Hulk and Vision transporting Black Widow to the safety of the Quinjet.

Falcon had ended up on the wrong side of the Hulks rage, his metal wings now useless, forcing the soldier out of the fight. War Machine hadn’t faired any better, his machine gun being ripped form his shoulder, although the suit was still standing. Steve too, had been thrown before the group had been forced to retreat to a safe distance to regroup. 

The Hulk, too outraged to allow anyone close, had continued his rampage, uprooting trees and bellowing in anger as the Avengers hid themselves from sight.

“We need a way to stop him.” Steve said, wincing in pain as he crouched beside a fallen tree, hidden from view of the Hulk. 

“Well, Nat’s unconscious. So she isn’t going to be much help with that.” Clint said gruffly. He didn’t like the situation they were in at all. 

“I’ve tried radioing Tony but all I am getting is static. Hydra must have installed some sort of dampening device in the area. So Veronica is out.” Rhodey added, the War Machine armour still wrapped around his body. Occasionally a spark flew off the exposed wires where the Hulk had damaged it. 

“And Thor seemed to be the only one who could handle a punch from him.” Steve added. The soldier looked at Hawkeye.

“How strong are your stun arrows?” He questioned.

“Enough to piss him off. Not enough to drop him.” The archer replied. 

“I could put him to sleep if I could get inside his mind.” Wanda stated from where she knelt by Pietro’s side. “But I would need to get closer.”

Steve turned to Vision.

“Could you hold him so Wanda could get close?” He asked. 

The android looked at the soldier. 

“Every time I try to approach, he has a tendency to throw a tree at me. I may be able to hold him but I will need him distracted.” 

“Anyone in his line of sight is in danger.” Steve muttered, thinking hard. Next to him, Pietro was also thinking. 

“But he can only hurt you if he can catch you.” The speedster muttered. Clint shot him a dirty look.

“Don’t even think about it Road Runner.” He warned. 

On the other side of the tree, the Hulk gave a loud roar. Pietro suddenly grinned, reaching down and picking up a decent sized rock. Suddenly, he was gone, shooting over the tree and around the Hulk, leaving behind the surprised group and his sister’s cry of his name. 

The speedster skidded to a halt, a few meters from the enraged monster. 

“Hey!” he shouted. The rock bounded off the Hulks head, the angry monster turning to look at the speedster. Pietro grinned. “Wanna play Doctor Banner?” He asked.

The Hulk lunged towards the speedster who quickly retreated to a safe distance, letting the monster see his new position. The Hulk gave another roar and charged, smashing through trees and rocks to get at the speedster. 

Pietro laughed as he ran, leading the Hulk in a huge circle. He was careful to keep within sight of the beast, occasionally taunting him to make sure the Hulks attention stayed on him and away from the rest of the team. 

After what felt like hours, the Hulk started to slow down, huffing in exhaustion every time he lost the speedster. It was taking more and more work for Pietro to entice him to follow. 

Suddenly, the Hulk stopped dead, the giant monster lowering itself to the ground, breathing hard. Pietro, breathing hard himself, stopped running. The speedster lent against a tree, carefully calculating his escape route before calling out one last time. 

“What? Tired already?” He called. 

The Hulk turned to face him once more, still breathing heavily. With effort, the beast once again rose to his feet, growling. 

Suddenly, Vision appeared grabbing the Hulk arm and forcing it into a painful angle behind his back. The Hulk gave a scream as Vision knocked him into his stomach, holding him down. Wanda appeared, running forward, her hands glowing. Magic flew through the air as Wanda entered the Hulks mind, the beast struggling against Vision’s grip. Slowly, the struggles stopped, the Hulk shrinking, the green fading from his skin. 

Vision released Doctor Banner who stayed in place, locked in a trance with his eyes glowing red. 

With a sigh of relief, Pietro let his exhausted body slip down to a sitting position against the tree as the rest of the Avengers appeared. Most of them gathered around Wanda who was kneeling beside Doctor Banners head, keeping him under. But Clint instead, made his way straight to Pietro. The archer pointed a finger at the speedster.

“….Laura is not to know about it!” He instructed, voice thick with anger as he prodded Pietro in the chest with his finger. After a moment, he grabbed the front of Pietro’s shirt and pulled the speedster into a bear hug. Pietro nodded in agreement, his face pressed against Clint’s shoulder. 

\-----

The Avengers were once again piled into the Quinjet. Doctor Banner was lying on a stretcher, still in a trance. Wanda was sitting by his head, keeping her magic flowing. Next to her, Vision sat, monitoring both Doctor Banner and Black Widow. Natasha had managed to regain consciousness and was now lying on the stretcher, watching Bruce’s lax face. 

In the far end of the craft Sam and Rhodey were quietly assessing their damaged equipment, Steve watching over them.

Clint was the pilot, Pietro sitting just behind him and watching as Clint when through the motions of flying the craft. 

None of them expected Maria Hill to appear on the screen. 

“Captain. Sit-rep.” She said.

Suddenly, Steve was striding to the front of the craft. 

“Ran into Hydra agents trying to take Banner. We have him with us now. Wanda is keeping him calm as Natasha was hit in the crossfire and unable to use the conditioning. It would be better to have Doctor Cho ready and waiting for us to get back. We will also need a room prepared for Doctor Banner. There is no telling what sort of mood he will be in once he wakes up. We will also need to talk to Stark. War Machine’s armour and Falcons wings were damaged in the fight.”

On screen, Hill nodded. 

“Already done Captain.” She said.

“Anything on your end?” Steve asked, leaning over Clint’s shoulder so Hill could see him better.

“Well, the bad news is you might not have noticed but an emergency service helicopter was overhead during your fight. They filmed the whole thing and sent it to a local news station. It’s gone viral.”

Steve blinked.

“And what is the good news?” He asked.

“I am not sure if you could call it good or bad news but the other news is, Tony has sent out an unauthorised tweet.”

Steve blinked.

“What?” He asked.

Maria pulled up a screen shot to show Steve. It was a picture taken from above the battle. From his seat, Pietro could make out a blue-ish figure standing before the Hulk. Underneath, Tony had written a few words.

‘Welcome to new Avenger Quicksilver!’ _#training #newmember #speedygonzales #avengersrule #ironmanrulesharder_

“The tweet has gone viral. And the name Quicksilver is now trending on social media.” On screen, Maria sighed. “The media unit is preparing a statement right now to try and contain this but it looks like Pietro is making his debut a little earlier than expected. I spoke with Tony about why he did it. He thinks this might be a good way to draw attention away from Doctor Banner for a while, let everything cool down.”

“He still had no right!” Steve replied. Pietro could see his hand tighten into a fist, a controlled display of anger. 

“Either way, a statement will need to be released. And Tony may be right. Better to draw attention away from Doctor Banner for a while.”

Steve sighed.

“We will discuss it when we get back. And tell Stark that I will be having words with him when we get back.”

Maria smiled.

“I think he already guessed that. See you all when you get back.”

The screen went blank. Slowly, Steve turned towards Pietro.

“I’m sorry.” The solider said. “It may be the only way to help Banner.”

“Will I have to leave the Barton’s house?” the speedster asked. He didn’t want to leave the house but he knew that Clint was very careful to keep his hero work away from the family. 

“I’m not sure.” Steve said, noting the sadness Pietro displayed at the thought of leaving the house. 

Pietro went silent. 

After a few moments there was a snort.

“You guys are forgetting it is a safe house. No one will find Pietro there. Besides.” The archer looked over his shoulder at the speedster. “You are not getting out of milking duties that easily.”

Pietro slowly grinned as Clint smiled at him. He had been fearful he was going to lose his place in the house but if he could keep it and still be an Avenger, Pietro saw no problem with making a statement. He looked up at the Captain. 

“Then, for Doctor Banner’s sake, I do not mind becoming an official Avenger.” The newest member of the team said.


	14. Crop Circles

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What is more dangerous then one prankster? How about two.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, we have seen Pietro with a wide range of emotions. Lets give Clint some now.
> 
> Also, I finished this a while ago but kinda forgot about it until I just got a comment asking if I had finished up this story. So I guess the answer is no since I still have at least one more plot I want to do and am tossing up if I should have a little X-Men bit.

The sun had long since set on the Barton farm, leaving the inside lights to cast their eerie glow. Inside, in the warmth of the Living room, Pietro lay, sprawled out on the couch, one leg dangling off the edge, a book raised over his head as he read. Occasionally, he would move his dangling foot a few times where it rested on the small portable crib that had been set up by the couch, making it move in a comfortable rocking motion for the sleeping baby inside.

Upstairs, two more kids slept off their night with their favourite older brother figure.

Laura and Clint had gone out for a date night, leaving Pietro to babysit the younger Barton’s. It had been a nice night. The speedster had made spaghetti for dinner, a meal he had quickly discovered was his favourite, and he had the kids had settled down to watch a movie. The movie had ended up being ‘Beauty and the Beast’ after the older two boys had managed to talk Lila out of her demand for ‘Frozen’ for the hundredth time. Pietro had found himself enjoying the movie. He had only watched it once before, when he was a lot younger and never before in English. The movie had reminded him of his own childhood, a time where he really believed in fairy tales, that he and his sister were a long lost Prince and Princess, waiting for their real father the King to come for them. 

The movie had ended without the parents returning so Pietro had managed to kill a little more time playing games before putting the older two kids to bed, keeping Nate with him in case the baby woke up. Pietro had tried to keep close to Nate at all times. It was clear to him that both Clint and Laura had become exhausted handling the newest member of their family and it was the least he could do after his behaviour during his mutant crisis. 

In fact, it was Pietro’s efforts that had gotten the older two out of the house. Now that he had the funding to do it, that was.

After Tony’s unauthorised tweet, Pietro had found himself in the surprise situation of being in high demand. Although he hadn’t officially faced the media yet (Steve had been kind enough to chair a press conference and release a statement about the Hulk Incident, stating that Quicksilver was Scarlet Witch’s brother who had been recovering from injury and wasn’t ready for the media attention) Tony’s photo had made Quicksilver the mystery of the team. The fact that several more poor quality pictures had then surfaced in the media of the speedster, given by an anonymous photographer (Tony) had led Pietro to the understanding that he was now generating a lot of interest and his time for a private life could be fading fast. Hence why he had chosen to retreat back to the Barton ‘safe’ house.

Still, it seemed to have some perks. Tony had made a bank account in Pietro’s name which the speedster had been surprised to find a lot of money in. More than he felt he would ever need. He had questioned the billionaire over it one day while at HQ, only to find out that the bank account only contained a fifth of the money made from the photographs, the rest being split into another account Tony had set up for Clint’s “junior agents collage fund” and various Charities which had been set up to help rebuild Sokovia. 

Still, with so much money at his disposal now, Pietro hadn’t felt bad about treating his parental figures to a night out. 

Laura had been a little hesitant at first, this being the first time she would be away from Nate since his birth but both adults trusted the younger avenger to take care of their children. 

Now, with the two older Barton children in bed and the baby asleep at the speedster’s feet, all Pietro had to do was wait for the older two to return home. The speedster still had to do the night milking but wasn’t keen on waking up Nate to go out to the barn. Nor was he comfortable with leaving the baby on his own. Elsa would just have to wait. Instead Pietro decided to relax and read, enjoying the quiet night in a comfortable house. It was a far cry from the cold stone cell he had lived in in Struckers fortress or the odd corner where he lost consciousness when he had been with Ultron. Hell, it was even better then the room at Avengers Tower where he had stayed while under Doctor Cho’s care. Yes, his room at the Barton house was small. But it was his, filled with things that belongs to him. There were even a few pictures hanging up which Pietro had been able to choose for himself. 

Pietro sighed and looked up once again at the book he had been reading. It was Clint’s old copy of ‘The Hobbit’. Pietro had discovered through his reading with Lila that he quiet liked fantasy novels and Clint had been happy to suggest a few more to him. The story was certainly engaging and Clint had promised that after he finish the book, the Archer would show him the movies. Pietro was looking forward to it. 

Lost in the plot about the little Hobbit trying to help the Dwarves against the Dragon, Pietro almost didn’t hear the lock in the door, signalling that the Barton’s had returned home. Lowering the book to rest on his chest, Pietro carefully lifted his foot off the edge of the crib, making sure not to disturb Nate, and sat up, watching as Laura entered the room. 

The woman was looking around, no doubt for her children. As the speedster watched, her eyes fell on the crib. She smiled softly, kneeling down to look inside at her baby. Slowly, Pietro stood up, stretching out his back. Laura looked up and gave him a faint smile. 

“Did you have a good night?” He asked, placing the book safely down. 

Laura seemed to hesitate before smiling at the speedster.

“It was lovely, thank you Pietro.” She said, carefully lifting Nate from the crib. The baby whimpered softly, the two adults freezing for a long moment, waiting to see if the baby had awoken. After a quiet moment, they both subsided, Pietro looking around for the final member of the family.

“Where is the old man?” He asked Laura. He liked calling Clint that. It never failed to get a response from the archer and more often than not, caused Laura to smile. But this time, Laura didn’t smile. Instead, she looked concerned.

“He’s in the barn.” She said softly. 

Pietro frowned.

“Is something wrong?” He asked.

Laura sighed.

“Just a fight with one of our neighbours. Clint just needs a few minutes to cool down.” She said. 

Pietro bit his lip as Laura shifted Nate in her arms. He knew she would soon have to wake the baby for his night time feeding. It would give Pietro his chance to go and do the milking. And possibly bug the archer into finding out what was going on. 

Without another word, Laura turned and left the living room, heading up the stairs to her and Clint’s room. Making up his mind, Pietro stepped into the kitchen and collected the bucket he had left behind earlier. Stepping out into the dark night, Pietro made his way up the familiar path towards the barn. Even from outside, he could hear the rhythmic twang of a bow string. Pushing the door open, Pietro stepped inside. 

Elsa was still in her box, crewing on some hay. Collecting an old stool, Pietro climbed into the box and placed the bucket down, getting straight to work.  
After about fifteen minutes, when Elsa was no longer giving any milk, Pietro stopped his task. Carefully hanging the half full bucket over the walls of the box, the speedster gave the beast an affectionate pat before climbing over the barrier himself. Shifting the bucket to a safe place, Pietro quickly wiped down his hands, returned the stool to its place and walked towards the secret door to Clint’s range. Opening it, the speedster slipped inside. 

Clint was standing just behind a chalk line, looking down at the target, his bow already raised and arrow pointing down range as he lined up his shot. As Pietro watched the archer released the shot. In a second, the arrow was released, hitting the target as another arrow was whipped out of the quiver on Clint’s back and slotted into place. Pietro watched silently as more arrows were released in a similar fashion, all of them hitting the middle of the target.

Finally, there were no more arrows in the quiver. Clint lowered the blow slowly, eyeing the target as if he was expecting it to try and run at him. 

Stepping over the line, the archer marched down to the target and started to pull out the arrows, slipping them one at a time, back into the quiver.

“Can I help you, Kid Flash?” The archer asked, not looking up from his task as he continued to retrieve his arrows. 

Pietro cleared his throat, crossing his arms over his chest.

“How was your night?” He asked.

“Fine.” Clint shot back, almost too quickly. Pietro raised an eyebrow in question. He didn’t bother commenting. He knew that when Clint was in a bad mood, the archer would take his anger out on his targets. 

Resting his back against the wall, Pietro prepared to make himself comfortable as he waited for the archer to calm down. He watched as the archer marched back up to the chalk line and raised his bow again, repeating his actions. 

After the third round, Clint seemed to finally subside, his shoulders dropping. Instead of walking to the target to retrieve his arrows, the archer lowered his bow, turning to face the speedster. 

“Ran into a friend of your at dinner tonight.” The archer stated before turning away to the small work bench in the corner of the range. Quickly, he placed the bow on the bench and started pulling at the catches on the holster, unclipping them and sliding it off. 

Pietro frowned. His English must be off because he had no idea what Clint had meant by that comment. Clint turned around a noticed the look of confusion.  
“Chris Mitchell. The guy you got into a fight with a few weeks back.” 

Pietro felt his eyebrows shoot up as the remembered the bar fight only a few weeks ago, when the heavy set man had decided to publicly badmouth Wanda. Pietro had honestly thought he had seen the end of it when he had left the man on the ground in the carpark.

“He is not my friend.” He stated. 

Clint gave a small laugh.

“Oh, I know.” He said. “Doesn’t mean he isn’t a complete jerk. He was at the restaurant and decided to bad mouth Laura.”

Pietro’s face suddenly felt hot. Someone had decided to bad mouth Laura, one of the kindest people he knew?

“Why?” He demanded, stalking over to the work bench, not bothering to hide his own anger.

“Because he is a jerk.” Clint said, shrugging. Clearly he had calmed down enough to think rationally. “Laura and I weren’t married when we first moved out here and Chris had his eye on her from the beginning. He never did forgive her for picking me over him.”

“Why didn’t you fight him?” Pietro demanded. 

Clint turned to look at the speedster.

“Because Laura was there. I am not going to make a scene in front of my wife. And not on our night out.” He pointed out. 

“Then why don’t you go out and fight him now?” The speedster questioned, still angry. 

“And what? Be arrested by the police? No thanks. If I were to do that, who do you think would be the one bailing me out? Laura? Or Steve? No way am I dealing with a pissed off wife and a disappointed Captain America.”

Pietro felt himself subside a little. He hated to admit it, but Clint had a point. Steve’s disappointed face was a serious weapon. Pietro had already found himself on the receiving end once (Somehow, the man had found out about his bar fight. Pietro suspected Clint may have ratted him out on that one) and it wasn’t something he wanted to deal with too often. 

Leaning against the bench, Pietro started to think as Clint, clearly a lot calmed now, went to retrieve his arrows. As the speedster watched, the archer carefully checked each arrow over, making sure the head was tight and the fletching hadn’t come loose. 

Then he remembered something. A few days ago, he had been watching a documentary with Cooper about aliens. And he remembered a trick the show had described. 

Leaving his place, Pietro ignored Clint’s curious look as he went back out into the barn, looking for something to help. Finally, he unearthed what he wanted. Two flat boards of wood and some rope. 

He went back into the range where Clint was handing up his bow.

“I think a prank might be in order.”

\-----

It was two days later when Clint was sitting at the table, eating breakfast that he saw the news in the local paper Laura had collected. On front, he saw the headline.

“Crop Circle Appears In Local Farm! Is this Aliens?”

Craning his neck, Clint could just make out the picture of the aerial view of the circles, just out front of a dilapidated old house, along with a picture of Chris Mitchell standing proudly. ‘Circles’ which didn’t look so much like any design most people would think of as circles but looked quite a bit like someone had written a rather rude word in Serbian. He couldn’t help but smile to himself. 

Let Chris think he had an Extra Terrestrial encounter. Only Pietro and he would know of the wooden boards and the carefully drawn design in Pietro’s note book, all carefully hidden under the house at 3am the morning before. 

He had also managed to encourage Tony, as a supposed expert on Aliens thanks to the Loki incident, to do a fly over of the area today and couldn’t wait for the genius to see it and realise what had happened. It would be worth it just for the look on Chris’ face when Tony Stark of all people told him what his ‘circles’ actually said. Especially since the media was going to be there to capture the whole thing.

Leaning back in his chair, Clint couldn’t help but smile. It looked like it was going to be a good day.

**Author's Note:**

> Doesn't it seem like we have been here before? Not 3 years ago we were all crying 'Coulson Lives' and now its Pietro's turn. Anyway planning to put a few little stories about Pietro and his life after Ultron. And of course, his interaction with Clint.


End file.
